Arrogant and Ugly (We Play Hard)

Australia have lost a series at home after sixteen years, and their reign looks like it has come to an end for good. They did lose the Ashes earlier, but came back after that. But now they do not seem to have any great player in their team, with the exception of Ponting, and even he looked suspect this year. Their bowling looks very ordinary, and that, to me is the core of their problem.

Their fall won't be mourned by many, and in fact, I think a large number of people outside Australia would feel happy about that. This has mostly to do with their success, and even those who were not jealous of it, were alienated by their arrogance. Anyone who is successful, if he does not put on an air of humility bordering on servility, runs the risk of being labelled arrogant, especially here in India.

I am reading the book "Hitting Out- The Ian Chappell Story" and from what I read there, I think if the Australian fairy tale comes to a gory end, all credit for that should go to Ian Chappell, for he seems to have seeded the hubris that has bolstered and then supplanted their performance.

Chappell's early days were not like ours, friendly games with bickering, but deadly wars with intent to win at all costs: here is a tale of his boyhood days, in Greg's words-

"We never used pads or gloves in those days and whenever Mum gave me the benefit of the doubt and I batted on, I'd pay with whacks to the lags and the hands. I remember that when the track got too slow we wet the wicket a bit to liven it up. One particular day Ian gave it a bit too much water and the ball leapt all over the place. Inevitably he hit me on the fingers and I went down in a heap. Ian stood over me: 'Don't worry about the fingers, mate,' he said. "Next time it'll be your head."

The strand of blame the umpire and take glee in punishing your opponent seems to have continued to the end of his career.

Here is how Chappell's men got dubbed as "Ugly Australians":

Australia were losing a test to New Zealand, in 1973-74 at Christchurch, mainly due to centuries in both the innings by Glenn Turner. Ian considers Turner had profited from indulgent umpiring, and is miffed with him for constantly padding away Max Walker. So, when Turner hit an one bounce four, and the umpire signalled a six, Chappell finds this: "Turner leant on his bat at the non-striker's end with the hint of a smug smile on his face"

So Ian argues with the umpire,  Turner wants to take part in the conversation, which Ian does not like, so Ian advices Turner to "Fucken well shut up". This is Chappell's version, but Turner claims that Chappell deliberatedly made the comments to unsettle and needle him.

Anyway, in the next day's papers his team gets tagged "Ugly Australians"

And at the end of his career, Ian  is captaining South Australia against Tasmania. Young David Boon plays, gets rapped on the pad, and the keeper claims a catch. The umpire says not out, but still Boon turns to the slip cordon where Ian is, and touches his pad and says something to the effect that the ball nicked the pad only.

"Listen, pal, you get on with your batting. We'll do the appealing. You leave the umpiring to the umpire," says Ian and repeats his advice to Boon at the end of the over. The umpire tries to get into the conversation, but Ian is on a knife's edge and on fire, so he tells the umpire, "Why don't you fuck off, you officious Pommie bastard", says Ian Chappell. 

I don't know to what extent Ian Chappell influenced Australian Cricket, it seems he believes it to be considerable, but this tag of ugly and arrogant cricket could be his legacy, for in 2005, he writes thus of Mendis, hit between the eyes, felled by an express from Thomson:

"I thought we'd killed the guy! Our public image hadn't been that good and Thomson had copped a lot of criticism over his "Wanting-to-see-blood-on-the-pitch" comment. Bad image or not, our concern was for the little fellow lying on the wicket.

"Are you all right, pal?" I said, glad to see that his eyes were open and he was still alive.

He looked up at me and a big tear started rolling down his cheek, and he said, "I going now."

Cricket is no longer a gentleman's game- Australia's contenders, India and South Africa don't shirk from gamesmanship either, so, may be this is Ian's legacy to cricket.