Australian cricket team in Australia in 1974–75 of out-and-out gamesmanship that made old pros like me wince. It was an open secret that he used to encourage his players to give a lot of verbal abuse to rival batsman when they were at the wicket in an attempt to break their concentration. Ian Chappell came from a South Australian cricket dynasty, his maternal grandfather Vic Richardson had been captain of Australia and his younger brothers Greg and Trevor Chappell also played for Australia. In the 1960s the young Ian Chappell had been noted as an aggressive batsman and gifted slip fielder who played for South Australia when
Greg Chappell centuries in both innings, the only such instance. Greg's effort of 380 runs in a Test match (247* and 133) remained a record until beaten by Graham Gooch in 1990. Unfortunately for Chappell, his health was now blighted by recurring tonsillitis and he found it difficult to bat for long periods during the 1974–75 Ashes series. He was the backbone of Australia's sometimes inconsistent batting, scoring 608 runs at 55.3. At Sydney, where Australia won to reclaim the Ashes, Chappell dominated with 84 and 144, which he followed up with a century in a losing cause in the sixth Test