Excerpts from the Talking Cricket interview with Ian Chappell On Australianism.
To me it was a tradition that was handed down. It's a bit like the Southern Cross thing. I taught Rodney the song. He passed it on to [Allan] Border and [David] Boon, to [Ian] Healy, to [Ricky] Ponting ... and he's probably passed it on.

"Under the Southern Cross I stand
Sprig of wattle in my hand
A native of my native land
Australia you bloody beauty"

Or, of course, if you were in the dressing room it became "Australia you f------ beauty". I was a kid who grew up in a cricket family, and I knew about the history of cricket – from word of mouth because my grandfather [Victor Richardson] was captain of Australia, and from listening to matches when Australia played England and South Africa, and you just built up this image of your heroes.

Once you got into the team, you thought of all those blokes, [Bill] O'Reilly and [Keith] Miller and [Richie] Benaud … `Shit, I'm wearing the same cap as them and I better not let it down'. They made it [the cap] strong and gave me the opportunity to play for Australia. It used to hit me when I showered at the Sydney Cricket Ground that all those guys showered in there.

… I've heard it said that Australia is at its best as a country when its back is against the wall. It's why we have a very good reputation as soldiers in wartime. It's when we try our hardest; and if we lose, fine. You have to learn to lose.

The public and media here are also very demanding of their sporting people and that contributes ... We're not going to give up. We'll be hard but fair; that's what we were taught by our father. I saw a quote from [Clive] Lloyd once where he said he enjoyed playing the Chappells because they were hard but fair. My father wasn't alive when that was said but he would have been happy to read that because that's what he taught us. To me it comes fairly naturally.

When I was 11 years old and playing baseball, our team had won the local competition No one looked like beating us, and by virtue of winning the district we had to play other districts. We got belted, and I was sitting there bawling, and the other team was celebrating, and my father told me to go and congratulate them. I said, "No way". But he grabbed me by the back of the shirt, pulled me to my feet, and said, "Take your team and shake hands". It was pretty embarrassing for a young kid, because you've got to show you've not been crying.

It was a great lesson, but it also became a psychological ploy. Later, when I played, and the opposition couldn't shake hands and look us in the eye, I thought, `We've got this mob'. Those that said "Well played", I thought, 'Ah well, these fellows are not going away too quickly'.

On sledging
The feeling in Australian cricket has always been that a weakness in character is seen as the same as a weakness outside off stump: it's there to be exploited. How to exploit it, that's the point. If it's a fast bowler saying "You lucky bastard" or "I'm going to knock your block off", that happens. But if batsmen get upset, the umpire has to be smart enough to stop it. For instance, Shane Warne was bowling to Sourav Ganguly on the last tour, at the Adelaide Oval. [Sachin] Tendulkar was at the other end, playing very well. Warne was bowling into the footmarks but Ganguly was letting the ball go. So Warne said to Ganguly: "People didn't come here to watch you let the ball go, but to see this other bloke play shots". And a few overs later, Ganguly got stumped. Obviously Warne got to him. That's gamesmanship, and that's quite acceptable.

Gamesmanship has been going on for a long time … I've read a lot about the Grace brothers, and there was plenty going on then. And it wasn't restricted to glares and stares. … In Australian first-class cricket, it's open season. And you usually found that the guys who had the most to say to each other were those who toured together. They knew each other's foibles and what irritated them, and these would get mentioned. It was all seen as part of the game, and afterwards you had a beer and laughed about it.

… We always went to the opposition dressing room. I said to my team, "I don't care what you drink, but I expect you to hang around after the game". I didn't force them to go, you can't do that. But we had at least half-a-dozen guys who would religiously do that. Maybe the opposition would say something, but it was also a chance to get to know us as human beings off the field.

… The fact that Slater got off [`during the 2000-01 series in India when he remonstrated with umpire Venkataraghavan] is ridiculous. Fact is, I've seen McGrath put his hand on two or three opponents, and that is ridiculous. You can't do that, and if you do it at the wrong time, something is going to happen. At the Sri Lanka-England match at the Adelaide Oval, where Murali [Muttiah Muralitharan] was called, [Roshan] Mahanama and [Darren] Gough, and [Alec] Stewart and Mahanama, banged into each other. I said, "What, has cricket become a physical contact game?"

… Yelling at opponents is not hardness. Andy Roberts was bloody hard but he never said a word on the field. You ask Sunny [Gavaskar] and he'll tell you about Roberts. He'll tell you he was a hard man but a wonderful competitor who didn't have to say anything.

On motivation and captaincy
You don't get awarded runs and wickets for making speeches; the only way is to earn them. I always felt when a guy was about to walk through the door it was too late for coaching lessons. I've read a lot about motivation, and a lot of crap is said. On you put on the cap, that's all the motivation you should need.

… To me [as captain] the most important thing is respect, and the only way to get it is to earn it. The Australian system is a good system; they pick 11 players, the best 11 you hope, and from that 11 they choose the best person to captain the side. You should have already earned respect as a player. You should also have respect as a person, and then you have to earn respect as captain. I looked at the guys I played under, and what I liked I incorporated and what I didn't like I left out.

… What's a team meeting? You say, "Bowl off stump going away and hang on to catches ... now that's finished with the serious business." Benaud told me when I was 19 that cricket is a simple game and the simpler you keep it the better off you'll be. I remember when South Australia was losing we had so many meetings it was driving me mad; I thought, 'We don't have meetings when we're winning!' I think they're overrated.

…But each to their own, I will say. What I carried onto the field was a batting chart – where guys scored runs – and bowling figures. I hardly looked at them; they were just a bit of a guide. As captain, you better have a very good memory.

As a batsman, if I'd not seen a bowler – and that was more likely in first-class cricket – I'd go down to the Adelaide Oval, stand behind the nets and watch him as if I was part of the crowd. What I was doing was moving my feet in sync with his action. I was moving my feet back and across and hoping people were not watching and thinking, 'What's wrong with this idiot?' I only did it so I wasn't surprised. You can't do that by videotape.

For the full interview, get your copy of Wisden Asia Cricket, December 2002

Rohit Brijnath is a columnist with Sportstar magazine

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