The writer in Ian Chappell

Ian Chappell may have been a hard taskmaster during his Australian captaincy days, but as Will Swanton of The Sun Herald observed, meeting Chappell now would 'dispel every ill-conceived notion you had of him'. Chappell's contributions as a cricket writer is as significant as his insightful commentary and he recounts his early days as a writer, and what it takes to succeed in the field.

"There was a quote from Red Smith's son which said the thing he remembered most about his dad's writing was that he used to pore over a word. He just wanted to get the right word. That's always stuck in my mind. I get like that. I think, 'Shit, there's a better word for this'. You find the right word and it lifts the sentence so much."

On the topic of the Ashes, Chappell rates England's chances, and he strongly feels that Andrew Flintoff's appointment as captain is an aggressive move which should serve England well.

Read the full piece here.