Was Ian Chappell a better batsman than Greg Chappell

[Harsh Thakor]

Today on September 26th,2013 Ian Chappell is 70. No batsman in his era including Viv or Barry Richards championed a cause as well when the chips were down as Ian Chappell.He displayed the grit of a great military commander who ressurected the spirit of his batallion and turned defeat into victory as a player and captain.None could bring out the best in his player more than Ian,especially Dennis Lillee.Ian was the ultimate player to ressurect his team from the grave.Statistics do not do justice to Ian Chappel who averaged 50.84 at one down scoring 12 centuries and 4279 runs-the best one down batting average by an Australian since Bradman.Even modern greats like Rahul Dravid,Steve Waugh ,Jacques Kallis and earlier Javed Miandad or Alan Border could keep the scoreborad ticking as well as Ian.Morally Ian deserved an average of above 50.An average of 42.42 hardly did justice to Ian who was arguably ahead of brother Greg.Adding Kerry Packer statistics and games v Rest of the World Ian averaged over 44 runs and scored 18 centuries. In Kerry Packer world series cricket he overshadowed both brother Greg and Viv Richards in a crisis.Morally it was Ian Chappell's 449 run sin 1975-76 more than Greg Chappell's 702 runs that won the Frank Worrel trophy for Australia.The great West Indian pace quartet found Ian Chappell the most difficult opponent to bowl to.It was Ian who prepared brother Greg for captaincy before building up the equivalent of an empire in cricket.Ian led a renaissance in Australian cricket in England in 1972,taking Australian cricket to the top the world.He moulded a bunch of talented players into a champion unit.He displayed the ferocity of a tiger as a captain.He was tactically brilliant as a skipper reminding you of a great chess player making mastery moves.In 1979 Gary Sobers rated Ian Chappell as the best batsman in the world ,ahaad of Viv and Barry Richards.Several opponents prized Ian's wicket more than brother Greg,who displayed the nerves of an iceberg. Ian's best batting performances came in series in West Indies in 1973,in India in 1969-70 and against the Rest of the World in 1972.(scored 4 centuries averaging over 80 runs)As a skipper he was at his best in England in 1972,in West Indies in 1973(averaged 77.42)against England at home in 1974-75. and in West Indies in 1979 in Kerrry Packer world series cricket.His best innings were his 156 out of 328 in the 2nd test at Perth in 1975-76 v West Indies,141 v West Indies in the 3rd supertest ,192 at the Oval in 1975 and 196 v Pakistan at Adelaide in 1972-73. In a crisis even Tendulkar or Lara would not have overshadowed Ian Chappell.He was also a great one day International batsman,averaging around 48 runs.Ian would have won more games than Jacques Kallis or Rahul Dravid.Ian may have been rugged,lacking elegance of brother Greg or equal technical correctnes but still posessed a great flair for drives against pace and spin.Watching Ian against great pace was sight to behold as he tackled the short ball with great prowess.He also beautifully danced down to the spinners.Ian mastered turning and bouncy wickets.Against the bouncing ball or on fast track s he overshadowed brother Greg.No batsman niggled great opposing attacks as Ian who made the best of bowlers grind for their wickets. Unfairly Ian Chappell has been obliterated from the 100 best cricketers selection by Cristopher Martin Jenkins and James Armstrong.Overall as a cricketer Ian was ahead of brother Greg and Ricky Ponting or Javed Miandad.Corrrectly John Woodcock places 1an at 57th place in his all-time list ahead of Miandad.Ian is one of the most underrated of batsman. Sadly he did not mantain the tradition of the great sportsmanship exhibited in cricket and was repeatedly abusing his opponents.As a commentator at times he was alos reckless or brash.Ian rated Gary Sobers as the best batsmen he ever saw and Andy Roberts the best bowler he faced.He never gave Ian Botham his fair due nor Jacques Kallis. Ian would arguably rank amongst the top 3 captains of all time and the 25 best batsman.I would place Ian amongst the 50 top cricketers of a ll,just a notch behind Frank Worrell.Without doubt he was the best skipper for Australia after Bradman.He was tactically sounder than Clive Lloyd,Imran Khan or Steve Waugh.I place Ian the 2nd best batsman after Rohan Kanhai to average below 50.Overall as a batsman he could well be the 2nd best Australian batsman after Bradman Edit/Delete Message

[Scarves]

Greg is a top 3 Aussie batsman of all time.

[Robelinda]

Ian good, 42 average sums him up. He had his good days, was an outstanding leader, thats his biggest achievement. He stood up to Bradman, off the field, which was fantastic, that one even changed the landscape of cricket.

[Harsh Thakor]

Who was the better batsman?Ian Chappell or Greg Chappell?

Greg is a top 3 Aussie batsman of all time.

Never forget what Imran Khan said in his autobiography in 1988 "I always thought Ian Chappell was the best Australian batsmen I ever saw who was man for the crisis a great player of pace and spin." Dennis Lillee stated in his autobiography in 2003 "If I had to pick anyone of those guys to play for my life in any match against any bolwing,on any wicket ,in any conditions, and especially if we had our backs to the wall,I would have no hesitation in picking Ian Chappell.He was so strong -minded and strong-willed he would not be bogged down by bowlers the way Boycott and Gavaskar did.He had a great defence and would turn defence into attack with short singles and boundaries." Sunil Gavakar stated in 'Idols' "Most of the batsman of his day thought Ian Chappell a much better batsman than Greg in a crisis who would come out and play a much better innings than Greg did in difficult situations. Gary Sobers said "I rated Ian vastly better as a skipper and a better batsman .Ian was the man for the crisis" Personally I would rate Ian just behind Gavaskar and Hutton and marginally ahead of brother Greg,Ponting and Border.Overall he would be in my top 40 cricketers of all.On a bad wicket he is arguably the best post-war batsman.

[Robelinda]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pOI92PFYLw]Ian Chappell 145 vs WORLD XI - 1st test 1971/72 - YouTube[/ame] [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQ7OuQ-KHfA]Ian Chappell 106 vs R.O.W. - 1st test 1971/72 - YouTube[/ame] [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Iqbuybg_aY]Ian Chappell 111* vs World XI 1971/72 5th test - YouTube[/ame] [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbouSeJ7300]Ian Chappell 119 vs R.O.W. - 4th test Sydney 1971/72. - YouTube[/ame] [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6u4kzPn_qQ]The 'Hook shot' in cricket, as taught by Ian Chappell - YouTube[/ame]

[ravishingravi]

Ian good' date=' 42 average sums him up. He had his good days, was an outstanding leader, thats his biggest achievement. He stood up to Bradman, off the field, which was fantastic, that one even changed the landscape of cricket.[/quote']