OTD: Ian Chappell was born in 1943

Ian Chappell, one of the most respected cricketers and captains of Australia, was born on this day, September 26, in 1943 in Unley, Adelaide, South Australia, and was the grandson of former Australia captain Vic Richardson and brother of Australia cricketers Greg Chappell and Trevor Chappell.

At the age of 18, his form in grade cricket for Glenelg led to his first-class debut for South Australia (SA) against Tasmania in early 1962. He was influenced by South Australia’s Gary Sobers and Les Favell. His consistent performances for South Australia led to his maiden Test call-up.

He made his Test debut for Australia against Pakistan in Melbourne in 1964, scoring 11 runs and taking four catches. He cemented his place in the Australia team with consistent performances and was joined by his brother Greg Chappell, who made his debut in 1970 against England.

Ian Chappell was made Australia captain in 1971 in place of Bill Lawry and moulded the team into an aggressive unit. He also captained the Australian team in the first ODI World Cup in 1975 and guided them into the final, where they lost to the West Indies. He stepped down as captain the same year.

He missed a couple of years of cricket as he participated in a tour to South Africa, who were banned from international cricket, and then played in the World Series of Cricket, floated by Kerry Packer.

He returned to Test cricket for Australia in 1979 and played his final Test against England in 1980. He turned commentator after retiring from cricket, has authored several books starting in 1972.

In all, Ian Chappell played 75 Tests, scoring 5345 runs at an average of 42.42 with 14 centuries and 26 fifties and a best score of 196. He also played 16 ODIs, scoring 673 runs at an average of 48.07 with eight half-centuries to his name, with the best score of 86.

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