Famous cricket player of Australian team: Ian Chappell
Ian Chappell, nicknamed as ‘Chappelli’, is quite a notable figure in the arena of former Australian cricketers who had a famous profile through their playing career. Chappell captained his team from 1971-75 after which he continued to take up a pivotal role in the WSC organization.
Being a right-handed batsman of the middle-order and a spin bowler, he created a firm grounding in the world of cricket and is still remembered as one of the greatest captains in the history of cricket. Chappell played for South Australia in 1963-64 in a match against Queensland and was not out at a score of 205. Another century hit against Victoria in the next season secured selection of Chappell for a one-off Test that was to be played against Pakistan in 1964. In the 1968 tour of England, Chappell managed to score the maximum number of first-class runs and spearheaded the Test totaled for the Australian team with 348 runs at 43.50.
In the season of 1968-68, Chappell made a succession of big score and at the same time, set a record of catches which bestowed him with the award of Australian Cricket of the Year. In the season of 1970-71, Chappell was given the captaincy of South Australia. In the following season, Chappell proved to be a prolific batsman of the series wherein he made an accomplishment of four centuries that were included in his score of 634 runs. What can be called as the highlight of his career was the 4-1 win Australia savored over England in 1974-74 which helped the team reclaimed the Ashes! Chappell was sight to watch, having score 90 on the very first day of the opening Test and ended six Tests with a total of 387 runs averaging at 35.18 along with 11 catches in the slips.
Post retirement in 1980, Ian Chappell worked as a sport journalist as well as a cricket commentator with Channel Nine for most part of the time. In 2009, this gem was inducted into the honorable ICC Cricket Hall of Fame, no wonder Shane Warne referred to him as the ‘biggest influence on his career’ back in 2006.
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