Greg Chappell - Captaincy Highs and Lows

Captaincy Highs and Lows

Sufficiently recovered, Chappell totally dominated the season of 1975-76, amassing a record 1547 first-class runs at an average of 85.9, with five centuries. Appointed as Australian captain, an appointment that seemed pre-ordained for him, Chappell began with a century in each innings to win the first Test against the West Indies in his adopted home town of Brisbane. This performance is unique in Test cricket. He led the team to an overwhelming 5-1 win and the title of unofficial world champions. His personal highlight was a classic 182* in the Sydney Test.

The peak of Australia's form proved to be brief. The team lost a number of players to early retirement, mainly because remuneration was so poor. Chappell was able to parlay his position into a reasonable income with his Queensland contract and personal endorsements, but he still needed to develop business interests in life insurance outside the game. His leadership abilities were tested in the summer of 1976-77 as a number of new players were blooded and Jeff Thomson was laid low by long-term injury. Australia received much criticism for defensive play during a drawn series with Pakistan, but Chappell's form was faultless, and he scored 121 and 67 in the only Test victory. The tour to New Zealand that followed was similar; it was clear Australia was in a rebuilding phase. During the Test at Auckland, a streaker appeared when Chappell was at the crease. Incensed by this new craze and the disruption that it caused, Chappell grabbed the man and hit his bare backside with the bat. When play resumed, the ensuing din from the incident caused Chappell to mis-hear his partner's call for a run, and he found himself run out. For once, the famous Chappell concentration had been broken. But the most significant occurrence of this match occurred off-field: Chappell was approached to sign with a proposed break away competition, later to be known as World Series Cricket (WSC).

Chappell formally signed a WSC contract the following month, during the Centenary Test, a one-off match against England commemorating one hundred years of Test cricket. He was offered the most lucrative WSC contract in line with his age and high profile as captain of Australia. Chappell led Australia to a dramatic victory in the Centenary Test. Some of his players felt that he struggled to cope with the pressure of captaincy during the tense England run chase on the final day, when Australia won a dramatic victory, due to by a marathon bowling spell from Dennis Lillee. But Lillee's absence for the forthcoming tour of England would hamper Chappell's campaign to retain the Ashes.

News of the WSC break away was leaked early in the tour, and Chappell quickly found himself besieged. Tour officials and administrators back home questioned his loyalty, journalists were constantly looking for comment, while non-WSC players in the squad accused him of bias in team selections. Leading an inexperienced team in often inclement weather sapped his confidence, while the English bowlers, knowing that he was the key wicket, constantly put him under pressure. After a brave 44 and 112 failed to save the second Test at Manchester, his form fell away and the team slipped to a 0-3 loss.

Chappell, who was a tremendous player of pace bowling, is regarded as one of the greatest batsmen ever to play for Australia. 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 of him in 1977: