Sa'adi Thawfeeq :Cricket administration anathema to Chappell

Friday 06, September 1996

Cricket administration anathema to Chappell

By SA`ADI THAWFEEQ

Former Australian captain Ian Chappell said the lack of backing umpires by administrators had led to the appointment of match referees in international cricket.

"There would be no need for match referees had the administrators given the umpires the backing that they should have,`` said Chappell, who is here as a television commentator covering the Singer World Series for World Tel.

One of Australia`s most successful cricket captains, the 52- year-old Chappell said: "I can`t imagine that cricketers can be any more competitive or aggressive than guys like Dennis Lillee, Javed Miandad and Viv Richards. That referees have really come in, is a case of jobs for the boys as far as the administrators are concerned``.

Chappell, who began a career as TV cricket commentator with Australia`s Channel Nine shortly after retiring from the game 20 years ago, said "the last thing on earth I wanted to do is become a cricket administrator``.

"I haven`t got the patience to play the little political games that cricket administrators play. That would not even enter my thinking being a cricket administrator. I am quite happy with what I am now,`` he said.

Chappell said one of the greatest improvements in the game was night cricket which was introduced during his time, and added: "I like to think that if you could come up with a ball that is good enough to play five-day cricket at night, it would be tremendous``.

The other big improvement Chappell saw was the marketing of the game and the televising, which he said went hand in hand.

"I think the game is seen more on TV is a good thing. It spreads the word of cricket. Cricket is going to places you wouldn`t have thought about 20 years ago,`` he said.

Asked whether TV placed undue pressures on umpires, Chappell replied "It places undue pressures on bad umpires. The good umpires get it right most of the time``.

He called for administrators to do everything in their powers to try and improve the standard of umpiring.

"A lot has been done to improve the standard of play. I think you`ve got to do the same thing with the umpiring. It`s no good improving the standard of play and having low standard of umpiring,`` he said.

Chappell rated the Australian standard of umpiring as "pretty average`` and said "there was a lot of room for improvement``.

Umpiring played a major part in souring player-relationships between Sri Lanka and Australia during the series played in Australia last year.

Source :: Daily News (https://www.lanka.net)