GREGORY STEPHEN Chappell, the former Australian cricket captain, could be considered as one of the best players Australia has ever produced. But this unassuming personality doesn't consider himself as a great but an efficient player. He is on his second visit to the Island and first as a TV commentator, covering the Sri Lanaka - India cricket series.
Greg, with brother Ian, Dennis Lillee and wicket-keeper Rodney Marsh formed the nucleus of a great Australian team in the 1970's.
Greg Chappell scored a century against England on his debut at Perth and captained Australia on 47 occasions in his 87 Test match career with a highest Test score of 247 n.o. against New Zealand and a century in the same Test with an overall 24 Test hundreds.
Neither of his two sons has followed in his footsteps, the eldest is a pilot in the Australian Air Force and the second is a baseball player and the third a daughter.
With his elder brother Ian Chappell's only child being a daughter and the youngest of the Chappells, Trevor who hasn't children yet Greg said that another from the Chappell family could be seen in action in a cricket field probably in the next generation.
Ian Chappell captained an Australian side on their way to England in the early seventies in Sri Lanaka, Greg led a Test side in 1983, Trevor was included in an Australian team which toured Sri Lanka under Kim Hughes on their way to England, just prior to Sri Lanka gaining full Test status.
Although Ian Chappell and Greg have played Test cricket together, Trevor played much later in four Test matches. Greg and Trevor once became famous when Greg got brother Trevor to bowl under arm in a limited over game against New Zealand.
Greg Chappell aired his views on certain points of the game in an brief interview.
Q: There were allegations made against the Premadasa Stadium Khettarama pitch at the first Test saying that it was a batsmenoriented one and that there was no help whatsoever for the bowlers. Jayasuriya and Mahanama batted for over two days utilising over 180 odd overs. Is it entirely due to the pitch or lack of penetration in the bowling?
A: No, I think when you prepare a batting wicket, it is very difficult for the bowlers. How many wickets fell in the match, not many, it's not good for Test cricket to have wickets of that nature. You got to win Test matches with balanced attacks.
Q: Since you made your first visit to Sri Lanka as the captain of the Australian team in 1983 with Dennis Lillee the present Sri Lanka coach Bruce Yardley and the present Sri Lanka cricket manager Duleep Mendis as captain and Arjuna Ranatunga as a player, what type of progress do you see in Sri Lanka's cricket.
A: Oh! There has been quite a big improvement. As a matter of fact they have been exposed to more and more international cricket. That means developing more international players, getting more experience at the highest level. We have seen them winning the World Cup without playing a lot of international cricket so there has been a lot of improvement. There were some good quality players around even then but they did not have the experience what these guys have now.
Q: If protective gear like helmets were available during the beginning of your career, facing Roberts, Holding, Marshall, Garner and your own Lillee and Thomson at their prime, would you have opted to wear one?
A: Would I? I don't know. It was available towards the end of my career and on occasions, I wore a helmet particularly under lights in a World Series match.
Q: Are you in favour of protective gear?
A: I am not fully in favour of protective equipment. But it is entirely the choice of the player. I have seen people being hit after helmets have been introduced than before they came into use. I don't have a fixed view and if it's available the guys have the choice.
Q: Could you improve the game by this modern technology TV replays, third umpire etc?
A: Yes, as it is in run outs and stumping and so on being adjudicated by the TV cameras which can give you a honest answer. But I still think that the game would probably lose something without the personal touch of the umpires. It's all part of the game that you got to accept the umpires decision which is final. I don't think whether the game would necessarily be improved if you took umpires out of the game and just went solely by television cameras. Probably run outs and stumpings we have got now, there are instances the television cameras can definitely help such as a catch in the outfield. Nobody is going to show and it's the TV camera that can pick it up. If the game can be improved by the television camera then I am in favour of it, but I am not in favour of losing umpires and the personal touch. Accepting the umpires decision has been a very important part of the game. It's a shame if we come to the stage where the game is electronically umpired and I think that the game would lose something and it will be a sad thing.
Q: What do you think is the reason for the downfall of English cricket?
A. It is very disappointing overall how English cricket has been allowed to disintegrate over the years. I think the quality of players, too many teams, mediocre players being produced and the type of cricket they play domestically is not preparing them to meet what is international cricket today. And it is disappointing because cricket cannot afford England to be weak. In fact, we can't afford any of the top countries to be weak. There are periods where you are obviously going to have fluctuations, but I think it's more than a fluctuation where England has been on the decline for quite some time and I don't see how they could come back in a short term.
Q: What should England do to overcome this situation?
A: They should make their domestic cricket more competitive and more fitting to the modern day game.
Q: What is the main difference in the team selection policy in England and Australia?
A: England has a different system in team selection. They pick the captain and then pick the team. Australia has always picked the best eleven players and then nominate a captain from that group .I prefer second system which is the best.
Q: In the inaugural World Cup in 1975 played in England, you were a member of that team captained by your brother Ian. Sri Lanka met Australia in a group match and went down fighting. Did you ever think after 21 years Sri Lanka would become world champions?
A: I cant' say whether I have been thinking of any great depths. The thing is that team in 1975 had some very good cricketers. They needed only experience and competition at that level of the game.They had very good players with a very good batting line up.They lacked experience to compete at that level.
Q: How do you rate the Sri Lanka side?
A: Sri Lanka has all the ingredients that they need to have a good team. They got some very good batsmen and bowlers and that's again why the wicket for the first Test was disappointing from the point of view because you got some very fine bowlers they weren't given an opportunity, I mean Chaminda Vaas and Muralitharan. But you can't have a one sided game just for batsmen it should be an even contest. The game of cricket is at its best when the balance between the bat and ball is very even. That develops cricketers to suit all conditions.
Q: The future of Sri Lanka cricket?
A: When I look around here and see the amount of cricket played in parks and streets, I think cricket is going to have a real boon here. At the rate of development cricket is undergoing, I would think within the next 20 years Sri Lanka could be a power in Test and one-day as well.
Q: Whom do you consider as the best batsmen during your era.
A: You got to count Test match cricket which leaves South Africa a little bit. A Player cannot be judged in one series. Players like Graeme Pollock one of the best players I saw. Viv Richards, Sunil Gavaskar under certain conditions. Gordon Greenidge, Rohan Kanhai were great players. Gary Sobers was obviously the best all-rounder. Barry Richards and Javed Miandad a fine player under any condition.
Q: Among the Australians who were best batsmen during your tenure?
A: Doug Walters and Ian Chappell were good players at spin bowling and Allan Border. Walters however, was suspect against genuine seam and fast bowling.
Q: Whom do you rate the best bowlers?
A: Dennis Lillee was the best, Thomson was the fastest. Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Joel Garner were great fast bowlers. And from the spinners Derek Underwood under certain conditions got top batsmen out. Bishen Singh Bedi, Erapalli Prasanna, Bhagawath Chadrasekhar, Abdul Qadir were all top class spinners. From the present lot Saqlain Mushtaq looks very promising. Shane Warne looks the best spinner and I would have liked to face him during my prime.
Q: How do you rate Sanath Jayasuriya?
A. I think he is a very exciting player and one of the few top players in world cricket at the moment. The more Test cricket he plays the better and better he will get. He was considered very much a one-day player for a long time but now he could be put among the very best in Test cricket as well.