If Ian Chappell was revered as a cricketer and a leader of men, he also remains a strong symbol of a bygone era when Australian cricketers smashed the system and endured times of immense upheaval to secure a brighter future for themselves and those who followed. It was Chappell who did their bidding and who always fought tooth and nail for their interests. Every Australian cricketer since owes him a debt. Without a players association or even a coach to call upon, he shouldered much of the burden alone.
Critics saw Chappell as symbolic of an increasingly ugly Australia, where trade unions were gaining unprecedented powers and the national cricket team looked and sometimes behaved like a marauding gang of bikies. Mike Coward saw it in a positive light and remarked that Chappell “wore a blue singlet under his white shirt … there was always a little bit of the unionist in him, and I think that was based on that sense of fair play and a sense of justice”.
“There was never any doubt that Ian was going to clash with cricket administrators just because of their attitude,” said his brother Greg. “I mean, his attitude was one of break or break through. If he felt that somebody was holding him back or holding us back, the he was going to challenge it.”
Despite his role in revolutionising the game as a key player in the World Series breakaway, Chappell rails against any inflation of his standing within the game. “Everyone nowadays seems to be a bloody legend,” he said last year. “Some kid’ll came up and say, ‘Can I have your autograph, you’re a legend.’ Mate, have a look at this – see, two arms, two legs – I’m not a legend, I’m the same as everybody else.”
The barbs were inevitable. “The self-daubed smudge on Ian Chappell’s public image looked darker and uglier to older generations,” said Robinson, “finding it most difficult to accept that, as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, offence is in the ear of the hearer.”
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