WE GO AGAIN
KEVIN McCALLUM: Why I will not sing in the adoring choir of this Ian Chappell
There have been some great lines in cricket commentary. None of them has come from Ian Chappell. As he watched Mark Stoneman bat on the first day of the third Ashes Test in Perth on Thursday, Chappell intoned: "He tries to score runs. That’s what you look for in a batsman." Genius. But I think I have an inkling of what he meant. Stoneman hit 10 boundaries in his knock of 56 at a strike rate of just more than 50. Stoneman does not stonewall. He challenges the bowler, takes chances and plays his shots. It’s the way it’s meant to be. So he made sense, but in a way that sounded like the bleeding obvious. I cannot bring myself to like Chappell because there is something about him that feels off, even ugly. Perhaps I am wrong. Others describe him as astute with strong, left-field thoughts on the game that are at odds with the norm. He writes all his own stuff, always has, which is nigh on unheard of these days. He gives good quotes. When asked about defensive cricket, he remembered an enc...
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