Veteran Ian Chappell ends his commentary stint after 45 years

Former Australia cricketer and veteran Ian Chappell has decided to retire from commentary. Chappell who has been doing commentary for the past 45 years or so said that media tycoon Kerry Packer wanted to sack him on several occasions amid World Series Cricket.

The former Australian skipper picked up the microphone after representing his country in 75 Test matches. The batter had a decent run as a player as he finished with 5345 runs in the longest format of the game. After retirement, Chappell decided to do commentary in 1977.

I knew I had enough of playing cricket: Ian Chappell

“I remember the day when I knew I’d had enough of playing cricket,” the 78-year-old told the Sydney Morning Herald. I looked at the clock and it was five past 11 on a day of play and I thought, ‘S***, if you’re clock-watching at that time, I have to go,” he added.

The prominent commentator also shed light on his early days in commentary and said that his career almost came to an end before even starting due to the mood swings of Kerry Packer. “Kerry wanted to sack me a couple of times. He used to get the shits about one-day cricket, because that was his baby … With Kerry it was just like a storm, you’d let it blow over till the next one came,” Chappell said.

The former Aussie skipper also said that listeners of his commentary may remember him as a ‘prick’, but he reckoned that he deserved his place behind the microphone. The former Australia skipper has also questioned the existence and future of Test cricket amid the rising stature of franchise-based cricket across the globe.

Chappell has stated that the longest format of the game won’t die in his lifetime, but he opined that players are now more focused on playing T20 leagues to earn money. “(Test cricket) won’t die in my lifetime. But who’ll be playing it? That’s the big question,” Chappell said.