Chappelli and the write line

In late 2001 I took a call from the late Mark Mascarenhas the president of WorldTelMark a mate of Ian Chappell asked me if midday would like to publish the former Australian captainrsquos columns which were appearing in another newspaper but only in Delhi Of course Chappell started writing way back in November 1973 for Cricketer Australia magazine even while he was his countryrsquos captainLast Sunday 51 years later he wrote his final column in this paper ending a journalistic career that was as brilliant as his cricketing exploitsI told Mark that as much I would want Chappell back he wrote for us briefly in the early 1990s I didnrsquot think wersquod have the budget for a big name like him Mark put the ball in my court for a price cringed at the modest fee we could pay and finally agreedmdashall in a threeminute conversation Sadly that was the last time I spoke to Mark for he died a few months later in a road accident near NagpurChappell was well into his lsquosecond inningsrsquo at midday at the time of Markrsquos death He sent me a tribute on Mark with a note that he didnrsquot want to be paid for itIn later years I was to receive several such lsquofree of costrsquo tributesIn 2003 my then editor Aakar Patel called me to ask how much we pay Chappell On hearing the figure he said ldquoDouble it Hersquos worth much morerdquoWhile Chappell was loyal to those he committed to he never compromised on integrity or anything that could endanger the game He was on the commentary team for the ICC Champions Trophy 200910 held in South Africa In the last two matches before the semifinals India and West Indies clashed at Johannesburg on September 30 2009 for a 230 pm local time game while Australiarsquos match against Pakistan at Centurion was scheduled on the same day at 930 am local time Chappell felt the two matches not being held concurrently was wrong ldquoObviously a concurrent start isnrsquot an ideal situation for the television rights holder but the integrity of the game must always come firstrdquo he wrote not bothering for one moment what the television bosses would think of himThe piece that turned out to be most controversial was the column he wrote exclusively for us after India crashed out of the 2007 World Cup ldquoBefore anybody else makes a decision on what will happen to Tendulkar the player himself has to have a good long look in the mirror and decide what hersquos trying to achieve in the gamerdquo Chappell wroteAs expected his views on Tendulkar did not attract wholesome agreement here in India One former India cricketer even said Chappell was jealous of Tendulkarrsquos success Chappell was used to the idea that his wonrsquot always be the popular view I remember him telling me of a senior Australia player taking exception to his strong views on the eventual championsrsquo iffy start to the 1999 World Cup ldquoWe need to have a chatrdquo the senior pro said to Chappell at breakfast Chappell took a piece of paper wrote down his entire schedule including which hotels he would be staying at and asked the player to get in touch with him as per the schedule sheetHe did not hear from the player againThe foibles of the ICC were a pet hate for Chappell For years he was frustrated that they couldnrsquot come up with a Test championship forcing him to write in the book Chappelli The Cutting Edge that if Test cricket dies it would be an inside jobChappell learnt to keep pressing for change from spin greatturnedjournalist Bill lsquoTigerrsquo OrsquoReilly ldquoIn my early days in the press box he Tiger told me lsquoSon you are in a privileged position If you see something about the game you donrsquot agree with write about it If they donrsquot take any notice then write about it again and if they still donrsquot take any notice write about it againrsquo ldquowrote Chappell in his 2005 book A Golden AgeIf I were to pick my favourite Ian Chappell piece it would be the Foreword in his mate Terry lsquoTJrsquo Jennerrsquos book Jenner bowled legspin for Australia and South Australia with Chappell as his captain and landed up on the wrong side of the law before going on to become Shane Warnersquos goto coach When Jenner was imprisoned for embezzlement the only visitor he feared meeting was his captain but Chappell reassured him that he didnrsquot have to be ashamed of anythingChappell wrote in the Foreword ldquoWhy did I support TJ when he was going through a rough time I felt he needed help rather than incarceration And finally I guess because once yoursquore captain yoursquore their skipper for all timeldquoIt was my job to be there to help and to listen when a player had a problem and in return I expected them to play hard for me on the field If you expect 100 per cent you have to give 100 per cent It was one of my rules as captainrdquoChappell gave 100 per cent to his columns His views would be layered with history lessons and there would be a measured use of statisticsMy inbox will no longer be graced by his column unfailingly filed every second Saturday morningWhen he called me two weeks ago to say hersquos done with writing he asked what I would prefermdashlet the last piece sent on February 8 go down as his final one or a farewell column I requested for the latter and what a fine piece he wroteMark Mascarenhasrsquo call started Chappellrsquos close association with midday and Chappellrsquos recent call to announce his lsquoretirementrsquo ended it But Chappell wonrsquot retire from being a deep unbiased thinker of the game so bat on Chappellimiddayrsquos group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stance He tweets ClaytonMurzelloSend your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper