I Will Miss Ian Chappell’s Writings: Cricket’s Ultimate Voice of Reason Retires

On the day when the cricketing world was consumed by the overhyped dullness known as the India-Pakistan non-rivalry, the retirement of legendary writer Ian Chappell almost went unnoticed.

Chappell, cricket’s voice of reason, officially retired from writing at the age of 81.

His final piece for ESPNCricinfo was titled, “The time has come to put down the pen and pack away the computer” and In the Mid-Day, it was even more blunt, “That’s it folks, I’m done.”

For someone who had shaped so many of my views on cricket, it felt like an end of an era.

Here is what Ian Chappell meant to me. Look out for sprinklings of quotes from his own writing at the end of each section.

Carrying Cricket’s Moral Burden

Chappell wrote for nearly 50 years — writing tribute articles, analyzing batting techniques, recalling lovely cricket stories, reviewing World Cups and Test Series, and much more.

But what will I miss the most?

Without a doubt, I will miss his “Doom and Gloom” cricket articles. You can get a gist of these articles by the titles themselves:

• Cricket being run by a competent ICC is a pipe dream
• We need a debate on cricket’s future and we needed it yesterday
• Cricket needs IPL money, but is it good for the future of the game?
• Who disciplines the administrators?
• It’s a pity the ODI has been allowed to wither as a format

You get the point.

It felt as if Chappell was carrying cricket’s burden on his own shoulders.

Throughout his career, he served as one of cricket’s two moral fulcrums, calling out administrators and shedding light on the game’s deeper issues. (The other one being, Michael Holding).

You may agree with his views, you may not. But what you cannot deny is that Chappell never shied away from using his voice.

He called it how he saw it and did not bow down to the tactics of regulation media.

“The ICC is widely regarded as an event management company. They should add “and not a very good one.”

How Ian Chappell’s Writing Style Influenced My Own Writing

As Mama Bear from Goldilocks would say, Chappell’s articles were never too long, nor too short, they were “just right.”

He did not fill his posts with flowery language or movie quotes. He got straight to the point.

I never realized that I admired Ian Chappell until I reflected upon my own style of writing.

Over the years, I have been drawn to Harsha Bhogle’s command of language, George Dobell’s simplicity, Andrew Fidel Fernando’s satirical ingenuity, Melinda Farrell’s insightful interviews, and Jarrod Kimber’s versatility in content creation.

Little did I realize, though, that Chappell’s approach had subtly influenced my own writing style and ideas. Here are a few examples:

• 15 Cricket Problems That Needs to Be Solved in the Next Decade
• Test Cricket is in Grave Danger, and the Big 3 Must Preserve It (Satire)
• An Open Letter to the ICC: 14 Points & Cricket’s League of Nations Proposal for Survival of the Sport
• What Should India’s Role Be in the World? An Essay on Cricket’s Spiritual Battle with Itself
• Cricket Self-Implodes: Thailand, The ICC, COVID, Racism, Sex, And Overkill of Cricket — Cricket Controversies 2021
• End of Cricket As We Know It? Pakistan, Postponement, Mental Health Crisis, and Overkill of Cricket

Thank you for inspiring us all, writers, cricketers, administrators, and all cricketing fraternity.

“Creating a balance between the financial rewards of T20 and the need to full test players in longer contests in a big challenge. The question is, do the administrators have a duty of care to talented kids of the future so they have the opportunity to experience the thrill of Test cricket?

Ian Chappell’s Legacy

Coming from a cricketing family, Ian formed his own distinct legacy.

To understand Chappell’s journey, check out “How I foresook dreams of bus-driving for a career in cricket media” and “Cricket writers who inspired me”, where he reflects on his own heroes and the influence figures like Richie Benaud and Tony Cozier had on his own journalistic career.

Chappell did it all — radio, newspaper, TV, published books. To excel in one career in remarkable achievement. He did it in two. Don’t forget, he had earlier scored over 5,000 Test runs, 14 centuries, averaged 48.07 in the new ODI format, and enjoyed a nearly 20-year first-class career.

To build a legacy across separate careers spanning generations is a story that deserves accolades. His influence on Australian cricket and cricket media was second to none.

If cricket ends up collapsing in the future due to the Big 3 takeover, imbalance of formats, influx of T20 leagues, overkill of cricket, incompetence of the ICC, or corruption— All I can say is that Ian Chappell warned us.

I will leave y’all with this quote from Chappell’s final Cricinfo article:

“A justifiable part of writing is, it’s all your own work — it might be rubbish, but at least it’s your rubbish.”

It wasn’t rubbish at all, Ian. Each and every word was well worth it. Thoughts and ideas live forever. Your legacy lives on. You have changed cricket for the better.

What a spectacular journey it has been. Thank you. Happy Retirement.

Originally published on Broken Cricket Dreams on 2/23/2025.