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Chappelli: Life and Larrikins
This wonderful collection of stories showcases all the characters and events from the extraordinary life of an Aussie sporting immortal.
Ian Chappell has plenty of strings to his bow - legendary captain of the Australian cricket team; incisive and forthright sports commentator; fearless negotiator with media magnate Kerry Packer; and slightly less fearless runner with the bulls in Pamplona. To name only a few.
In Chappelli: Life and Larrikins, 'Chappelli' takes us on a relaxed, often hilarious, always fascinating journey through his life in cricket and beyond, featuring encounters with everyone from Shane Warne to Sean Connery, from Bradman to Benaud.
Why did Packer call Ian 'the most difficult bastard on Earth'? What were the gut-wrenching consequences when Ian accused Dennis Lillee of being a medium-pacer? Why was Ian warned about frogs when he ran with the bulls? And why exactly did Doug Walters buy a shirt with six pockets during a tour of Sri Lanka?
Ian Chappell has plenty of strings to his bow - legendary captain of the Australian cricket team; incisive and forthright sports commentator; fearless negotiator with media magnate Kerry Packer; and slightly less fearless runner with the bulls in Pamplona. To name only a few.
In Chappelli: Life and Larrikins, 'Chappelli' takes us on a relaxed, often hilarious, always fascinating journey through his life in cricket and beyond, featuring encounters with everyone from Shane Warne to Sean Connery, from Bradman to Benaud.
Why did Packer call Ian 'the most difficult bastard on Earth'? What were the gut-wrenching consequences when Ian accused Dennis Lillee of being a medium-pacer? Why was Ian warned about frogs when he ran with the bulls? And why exactly did Doug Walters buy a shirt with six pockets during a tour of Sri Lanka?
304 pages, Paperback
First published November 19, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 13, 2022
In the early 1990s, Australia was the gold standard of cricket broadcasting for us Indian cricket fans. Beautiful grounds, great presentation and the commentary which I appreciated later. And my favourite commentator was the man who called a spade a spade - Ian Chappell.
This was my second book by Chappell and it was a collection of anecdotes. I had to skim half of the book because of the context/setting. Not a great read but 3-4 anecdotes were fantastic and made it worthwhile.
This was my second book by Chappell and it was a collection of anecdotes. I had to skim half of the book because of the context/setting. Not a great read but 3-4 anecdotes were fantastic and made it worthwhile.
April 18, 2024
After a while I thought perhaps I was being overzealous about batsman retrieving the ball for bowlers, so I asked the prolific Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar about his approach.
'Most of the time,' said Sunny, with a serious look on his face, 'I wouldn't touch the ball even it was right next to my boot. Occasionally, though,' he continued with a hint of a smile creasing his face, 'especially in games against Pakistan, I'd bend down and pick up' - he paused for a moment - 'a blade of grass from right next to the ball.'
Ian Chappell is a former Australian cricket captain and a fantastic commentator. This is one of the memoirs of the Chappelli (as he was nicknamed) series. I remember there were a lot of controversial anecdotes about Ian Chappell during my religious following of the world cricket from more than two decades. Be it the Adelaide car park fight with Ian Botham during 2013 Ashes, scathing criticism of Steve Waugh during the 90s and right upto his retirement in Tests or becoming the talent acquisition head for Kerry Packer in the 1970s. I had enjoyed his honest opinions as well as his colorful and straightforward.
Here, what you get is a mixed bag. There are some highly entertaining stories like a couple about Kerry Packer, his Lancashire League stint, crowds at the grounds and 1996 World Cup commentary chapter. My favorite is about Charles Benson and The Punter's farewell.
However, the stories related to Baseball and Golf which were dreadful. Perhaps, I don't understand both the culture and some colloquial terms in both the games. Overall, an okayish book.
'Most of the time,' said Sunny, with a serious look on his face, 'I wouldn't touch the ball even it was right next to my boot. Occasionally, though,' he continued with a hint of a smile creasing his face, 'especially in games against Pakistan, I'd bend down and pick up' - he paused for a moment - 'a blade of grass from right next to the ball.'
Ian Chappell is a former Australian cricket captain and a fantastic commentator. This is one of the memoirs of the Chappelli (as he was nicknamed) series. I remember there were a lot of controversial anecdotes about Ian Chappell during my religious following of the world cricket from more than two decades. Be it the Adelaide car park fight with Ian Botham during 2013 Ashes, scathing criticism of Steve Waugh during the 90s and right upto his retirement in Tests or becoming the talent acquisition head for Kerry Packer in the 1970s. I had enjoyed his honest opinions as well as his colorful and straightforward.
Here, what you get is a mixed bag. There are some highly entertaining stories like a couple about Kerry Packer, his Lancashire League stint, crowds at the grounds and 1996 World Cup commentary chapter. My favorite is about Charles Benson and The Punter's farewell.
However, the stories related to Baseball and Golf which were dreadful. Perhaps, I don't understand both the culture and some colloquial terms in both the games. Overall, an okayish book.
January 3, 2013
This was the first Ian Chappell book that I've read and I bought it for some light, entertaining reading. Ian was a gutsy and extremely good cricketer...I also like his commentary. Having said that, this book was dreadful, incredibly boring and I spent a lot of time skim reading. If you're thinking of buying it, read the chapter titled The Punter's Farewell, and if you still buy it after that, you deserve everything you get. I'm also reading Bryce Courtenay's Jack of Diamonds and the contrast is stark.
May 29, 2024
This series of anecdotes was a perfect companion fro breaks in the cricket. Essentially a series of anecdotes which are only poignant or funny or interesting because of the identity of the author, it is a quick, light read for those of my age group. Unfortunately, anyone younger would find little to engage them.
October 21, 2012
Firstly, if you're not a cricket supporter then don't even bother. If you are you'll still have to trawl through some fairly mundane stories amongst the absolute classics that make up a large portion of the book.
January 21, 2015
Enjoyed it OK. Was anticipating some of chappell's forthright opinions on the state of the game so in that regard was disappointed. Largely a light fluff piece.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews