Ian Chappell at the end of a nineteen-Test career. Chappell was given weekly batting lessons from the age of five, as were younger brothers Greg and Trevor, who both also went on to play for Australia. Chappell grew up in the beachside suburb of Glenelg and attended the local St Leonard's Primary School where he played his first competitive match at the age of seven. He was later selected for the South Australian state schoolboys team. He then enrolled at Prince Alfred College, a private secondary school noted for producing many Test cricketers, including the Australian captains Joe Darling and Clem Hill.
Martin Chappell degree in sound engineering, he moved to Australia and later moved to Hong Kong, where he got a job working in a radio station. After being hired briefly by major film studio MGM, Chappell found a job at Milkyway Image, where he made he first effort as a sound mixer for the 1996 film "The Intruder". Chappell has worked on over 40 Hong Kong films, collaborating with the likes of Ringo Lam, Johnnie To and Tsui Hark. Known to be fluent in Cantonese, his film credits include "The Longest Nite", "The Mission", "Mad Detective", "Running on Karma" and "Blood Brothers".