When ex-Australia captain Ian Chappell called the legendary Don Bradman ‘vindictive’
Someone who speaks his mind and doesn't mince words, Chappell had a very critical view of Australian legend cricketer Don Bradman. In an interview, Chappell had said "There weren't many players before the war who liked Bradman. They admired him as a player but as a person....".
Ian Chappell, former Australia captain-turned broadcaster announced his retirement from cricket commentary after a glorious career spanning 45 years. As a commentator, Chappell was widely known for his no nonsense and straightforward attitude.
As someone who speaks his mind and doesn't mince words, Chappell had a very critical view of Australia's legendary cricketer Don Bradman. In an interview, Chappell had provided insights into the cricketing life of Bradman as a person and said: "There weren't many players before the war who liked Bradman. They admired him as a player but as a person...".
Recalling an instance related to Bradman told to him by Bill O’Reilly, Chappell had then shared "When Bradman scored 300 in a day in England, a supporter gave him a thousand pounds which in those days,1930, hell of a lot of money. And Bill always said to me 'The little ba****d didn’t even put 50 quid on the bar and say, boys have a beer'".
Chappell further added that Bradman's teammates felt that he didn't believe that there was a team around him.
“I’ve always said one of my great regrets in cricket is that I never saw him bat. But as a person, my dealings with him weren't that pleasant at all."
When asked if he liked Bradman personally, Chappell had clearly said “No, I admired him as a cricketer, I admired his cricket brain. But the thing that I could never come to grips with was his vindictiveness.”
Chappell had highlighted how Bradman dropped Keith Miller who was one of the greatest all-rounders of his time in 1949, purely because of a disagreement with him. Citing another example, Chappell had mentioned Clarrie Grimmett, who took 44 wickets in South Africa in a five-Test series, was dropped from the team because of a run-in with Bradman. Elaborating on Bradman's character, Chappell had said: "His cricket intelligence would have told him that he had to pick Grimmett and Miller. But his vindictiveness overrode that".
Don Bradman holds the record of highest individual Test batting average (minimum 15 innings) at 99.94 and is widely considered the greatest batsman ever.
