Greg Chappell

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Greg Chappell Australia (Aus)
Batting style	Right-handed batsman (RHB)
Bowling type	Right-arm medium (RM)
	Tests	ODIs
Matches	87	74
Runs scored	7110	2331
Batting average	53.86	40.18
100s/50s	24/31	3/14
Top score	247*	138*
Overs bowled	887.5	518
Wickets	47	72
Bowling average	40.70	29.12
5 wickets in innings	1	2
10 wickets in match	0	N/A
Best bowling	5/61	5/15
Catches/stumpings	122/0	23/0
As of 19 July 2005 Source: Cricinfo.com

Gregory Stephen Chappell (born 7 August 1948 in Unley, South Australia) is a retired professional cricketer and former captain of the Australian national cricket team. Since retiring as a player in 1984 he has pursued business and media interests as well as maintaining connections to professional cricket; at various times he has been a selector for national and Queensland teams, a member of the Australian Cricket Board, and a coach. He is the currently the head coach of the Indian cricket team.

Contents 1 Overview 2 Controversies 2.1 Unsportsmanlike Behavior 2.2 Ganguly Spat 3 Coaching/Commentary Career 4 External links

[edit] Overview

From 1966, Chappell played for South Australia, Somerset, Queensland and Australia in an 18-year cricket career. He was also a member of the Australian team in the breakaway competition, World Series Cricket, from 1977 to 1979. He batted right handed and played in 87 Test matches, 48 of them as captain. The first Australian to score over 7000 runs in Test cricket, he was the holder of numerous records, including the unique record he jointly holds with his brother Ian Chappell as the only brothers to have made centuries in each innings of the same Test match (at Wellington in 1974). He scored a century in his first Test match innings, and his last, and also in both innings of his first Test as captain, another unique record. His 1547 first-class runs in the Australian season of 1975-76 were the most by any player for 23 years, and have not been exceeded since. At his retirement, his 74 first-class centuries, 24535 first-class runs, and Test batting average of 53.86, were each second only to Don Bradman amongst Australian players.

Chappell is regarded as one of the greatest batsmen ever to play for Australia.^[1][2][3]. Although adept in all aspects of batting, he was especially noted as a strong player on the on side (or leg side) of the wicket. The English writer and commentator John Arlott wrote^[4] of him in 1977:

He was - indeed, is - one of the three finest batsmen in the world; probably the best onside player of modern times; quick in reaction, superbly poised, an immaculate stylist.

As captain of the Test team in succession to his brother Ian, Greg Chappell was at first very successful, with a record of 8 wins and 2 losses from his first 12 matches in charge up to and including the 1977 Centenary Test against England. However, the 1977 Ashes tour of England was a 3-0 loss and Chappell then missed Australia's next 24 Test matches due to his involvement with World Series Cricket. When he rejoined the national team in late 1979, he resumed the captaincy and although making himself unavailable for two subsequent overseas campaigns (to England in 1981, and to Pakistan in 1982) he captained 31 further Tests for a total of 48, with 21 wins and 13 losses. Included in this was the 1982-83 series win over England which regained the Ashes for Australia after nearly six years.

Chappell was also captain of the ODI team concurrently with his Test captaincy, registering 21 wins and 25 losses from 49 matches; all but four of these matches were after the end of World Series Cricket, and Chappell never captained Australia in a Cricket World Cup tournament. His batting exploits in ODIs were not quite of the same magnitude as his Test match career, but he did hold the Australian record single-innings score (138 not out against New Zealand in 1980) for more than ten years. His ODI captaincy career is most commonly remembered for the "underarm" incident in 1981 (see below).

After retirement, Chappell has remained connected with the sport in numerous capacities. Most recently, he has fulfilled a consultancy role for Pakistan^[5] and, since 20 May 2005, has been the coach of India. This role has been the subject of much negative public and media commentary^[6] particularly involving his working relationship with former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly.^[7]

[edit] Controversies

[edit] Unsportsmanlike Behavior

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He was infamously involved in the underarm bowling incident in the New Zealand–Australia One-day International on February 1, 1981. Chappell, the captain, ordered his brother Trevor Chappell, to bowl underarm along the ground to Brian McKechnie, thus ensuring the Australian team would win the match and avoid a tie . This was extremely unsportsmanlike and a low point in the history of cricket. Both brothers have expressed regret and embarrassment over the incident. [1] [2]

[edit] Ganguly Spat

Chappell's first overseas tour as the coach of the Indian team was to Zimbabwe in September 2005. Sourav Ganguly, the Indian captain, scored a century in the first Test match and later alleged that the coach Chappell had asked him to step down as captain on the eve of the game. This was widely covered by the Indian media^{[citation needed]}. Ganguly was later dropped from the Indian cricket team by the selectors on the grounds of poor form, but many in the media suggested his omission was influenced by the previous row with Chappell^{[citation needed]}.

[edit] Coaching/Commentary Career

He has coached South Australia and worked as consultant at Pakistan's National Cricket Academy. He has also worked as a commentator for ABC Radio. In 2002, he was inducted into the prestigious Australian Cricket Hall of Fame. In May 2005, he was appointed coach of the Indian national cricket team for a two year term until the World Cup 2007. He earns about 175,000 USD as salary from the BCCI every year.

Of late he has come in for criticism^{[citation needed]} for his tinkering with the batting lineup and unorthodox cricket coaching methods. Since India has not done too well he has been made the scapegoat{{cn}. His comments have also not gone down well with the indian public^{[citation needed]}.

Preceded by: Ian Chappell	Australian Test cricket captains 1975/6-1977 1979/80-1980/1 1981/2 1982/3	Succeeded by: Graham Yallop
Preceded by: Ian Chappell	Australian One-day International cricket captains 1975/6-1982/3	Succeeded by: Bob Simpson
Preceded by: Don Bradman	Highest Australian Runscorer in Test Cricket 1984-1987	Succeeded by: Allan Border
Preceded by: Ian Chappell	Highest Australian Runscorer in ODI Cricket 1977-1985	Succeeded by: Allan Border

[edit] External links

• Cricinfo Player Profile : Greg Chappell
• Ganguly Recalled
• Chappell Wants Ganguly Dropped

Australian batsmen with a Test batting average above 50
Allan Border | Donald Bradman | Greg Chappell | Matthew Hayden | Michael Hussey | Ricky Ponting | Jack Ryder | Steve Waugh

Persondata
NAME	Chappell, Gregory Stephen
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Cricketer
DATE OF BIRTH	August 7, 1948
PLACE OF BIRTH	Unley, South Australia
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH