He went on to make virulent speeches in front of the school's selection panel arguing why he wanted the brat out of his class. He chose to ignore his pretty impressive comeback performances against Sri Lanka and Pakistan and his willingness to be a good boy and follow the new class code. He fought relentlessly until the bugger was thrown out of his class.
But looks like the new headmaster still can't throw the old monitor out of his mind. He has this urge to go out in the balcony and hurl a few more abuses at the black sheep of his class. Just look at the brickbats Chappell has thrown at the man who got him the job.
He's a bad influence. He can't bat. He is a horrible fielder. He plays divide-and-rule games. He fakes injuries. He is mentally and physically unfit. He doesn't behave. He lacks team spirit. He can't run. He is lazy and undisciplined. He is aggressive and combative. He is too old. He is too mean.
You don't need to have read Freud to tell that the new headmaster is not making purely cricketing judgements here. It is a personal thing. The Aussies hate to lose. And this cocky headmaster especially does. Winning is everything. He made his brother bowl underarm to achieve just that.
So how could he bear the thought of losing to the boy he considers a loser!
So when he makes some more nasty remarks to the Guardian about Ganguly, Chappell is actually caught unguarded.
He is shrewd enough to understand that now that he's got rid off the old monitor, raking up more mud would be futile. But he just can't help it. He is intelligent enough to understand the murky politics of the school board, but he can't help hide the glee. His new class is doing okay, and the brat is out. So he is gloating over what he considers is his victory and is hitting Ganguly below the belt.
He was not letting go the captaincy because it meant a lot for his life and finances, he says. He accuses him of presuming he would run him the way he did Wright. Though Wright - despite all the differences with Ganguly - still spares a word of praise or two for him, Chappell goes on denouncing him. The outpouring is instinctive. Comes naturally to him. Like his finger gesture at that brat's hometown fans!
He's been lucky in this battle. The school board's powerful president and supporter of that brat lost, and the change of regime took place. The selection panel chief - who would be known in the cricketing folklore only for his monkey jumps and his imitation by Javed Miandad - also hated the old monitor.
In Rahul Dravid the headmaster has found a dutiful, obedient and diligent yes-boy. Unlike his predecessor, this boy, also known as the great student of the game, doesn't like conflict.
So the headmaster can now lead in peace. A few kiddos who were under the bad influence of their old leader would be easier to handle. They must have learnt by now what the headmaster is capable of.
The headmaster will now implement his winning agenda. He has a point or two to prove. To the fellas back home who never considered him for the headmaster's job there. To his South Australian class that let him down by performing miserably.
That was the only time he was a headmaster earlier. To Paul Wilson, the monitor of that class, who says such nasty things about him. He says Chappell's a poor coach when it comes to looking after people. That his class hated him. That under his headmastership a lot of guys fell by the wayside because he was too opinionated and dismissive of people.
Do you hear a ring of truth in what Paul Wilson says? I do.
Chappell is of course capable of taking the new Team India to new highs. But as a die-hard cricket fan I feel bad about the way the most successful captain of the Team India is being treated.
If Ganguly was mean, I think, Chappell is being meaner.
He may be a great cricketer and sound cricketing mind, but I don't think millions of Indian cricket fans will remember Ganguly for what Chappell thinks and says about him. Ganguly will be remembered for leading the Team India to some most memorable and improbable victories against the best in the game; he will be talked about for his offside elegance; for his effortless sixes; for his guts; and above all for building the very class that the new headmaster is flaunting now.
Ganguly will also be flayed for his weakness against the rising ball, for his average fielding, for his reluctant running, for some of the matches that he could have won, but that will only be the second line of argument.
Chappell has every right to air his personal opinions on anyone when he's no more the coach of the Team India. But as long as he's a paid professional serving the Indian cricket board, he has no business to indulge in the witch-hunting against a player who's trying to make a comeback and seek more honorable exit. He has no locus standi unless the board assigns him the additional job of a chief selector.
Ganguly's hardcore Bengali fans would love to see him back in action. And they would also learn to forget him once they think he doesn't deserve it anymore.
Many, including the best of past cricketers, think he still has a couple of years left in him. I also think so. And, by the way, I am not a Bengali!first published:March 04, 2006, 10:42 ISTlast updated:March 04, 2006, 10:42 IST
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So it looks like the Great Cricketer Greg Chappell is still not finished with the Petty Pretender Sourav Ganguly. The new headmaster has slammed the doors of his Team India classroom on the former monitor's face. He started it all in Zimbabwe by telling him to say quits. He then sent that damning report card to the school board surreptitiously and made sure he was no longer the monitor.
He went on to make virulent speeches in front of the school's selection panel arguing why he wanted the brat out of his class. He chose to ignore his pretty impressive comeback performances against Sri Lanka and Pakistan and his willingness to be a good boy and follow the new class code. He fought relentlessly until the bugger was thrown out of his class.
But looks like the new headmaster still can't throw the old monitor out of his mind. He has this urge to go out in the balcony and hurl a few more abuses at the black sheep of his class. Just look at the brickbats Chappell has thrown at the man who got him the job.
He's a bad influence. He can't bat. He is a horrible fielder. He plays divide-and-rule games. He fakes injuries. He is mentally and physically unfit. He doesn't behave. He lacks team spirit. He can't run. He is lazy and undisciplined. He is aggressive and combative. He is too old. He is too mean.
You don't need to have read Freud to tell that the new headmaster is not making purely cricketing judgements here. It is a personal thing. The Aussies hate to lose. And this cocky headmaster especially does. Winning is everything. He made his brother bowl underarm to achieve just that.
So how could he bear the thought of losing to the boy he considers a loser!
So when he makes some more nasty remarks to the Guardian about Ganguly, Chappell is actually caught unguarded.
He is shrewd enough to understand that now that he's got rid off the old monitor, raking up more mud would be futile. But he just can't help it. He is intelligent enough to understand the murky politics of the school board, but he can't help hide the glee. His new class is doing okay, and the brat is out. So he is gloating over what he considers is his victory and is hitting Ganguly below the belt.
He was not letting go the captaincy because it meant a lot for his life and finances, he says. He accuses him of presuming he would run him the way he did Wright. Though Wright - despite all the differences with Ganguly - still spares a word of praise or two for him, Chappell goes on denouncing him. The outpouring is instinctive. Comes naturally to him. Like his finger gesture at that brat's hometown fans!
He's been lucky in this battle. The school board's powerful president and supporter of that brat lost, and the change of regime took place. The selection panel chief - who would be known in the cricketing folklore only for his monkey jumps and his imitation by Javed Miandad - also hated the old monitor.
In Rahul Dravid the headmaster has found a dutiful, obedient and diligent yes-boy. Unlike his predecessor, this boy, also known as the great student of the game, doesn't like conflict.
So the headmaster can now lead in peace. A few kiddos who were under the bad influence of their old leader would be easier to handle. They must have learnt by now what the headmaster is capable of.
The headmaster will now implement his winning agenda. He has a point or two to prove. To the fellas back home who never considered him for the headmaster's job there. To his South Australian class that let him down by performing miserably.
That was the only time he was a headmaster earlier. To Paul Wilson, the monitor of that class, who says such nasty things about him. He says Chappell's a poor coach when it comes to looking after people. That his class hated him. That under his headmastership a lot of guys fell by the wayside because he was too opinionated and dismissive of people.
Do you hear a ring of truth in what Paul Wilson says? I do.
Chappell is of course capable of taking the new Team India to new highs. But as a die-hard cricket fan I feel bad about the way the most successful captain of the Team India is being treated.
If Ganguly was mean, I think, Chappell is being meaner.
He may be a great cricketer and sound cricketing mind, but I don't think millions of Indian cricket fans will remember Ganguly for what Chappell thinks and says about him. Ganguly will be remembered for leading the Team India to some most memorable and improbable victories against the best in the game; he will be talked about for his offside elegance; for his effortless sixes; for his guts; and above all for building the very class that the new headmaster is flaunting now.
Ganguly will also be flayed for his weakness against the rising ball, for his average fielding, for his reluctant running, for some of the matches that he could have won, but that will only be the second line of argument.
Chappell has every right to air his personal opinions on anyone when he's no more the coach of the Team India. But as long as he's a paid professional serving the Indian cricket board, he has no business to indulge in the witch-hunting against a player who's trying to make a comeback and seek more honorable exit. He has no locus standi unless the board assigns him the additional job of a chief selector.
Ganguly's hardcore Bengali fans would love to see him back in action. And they would also learn to forget him once they think he doesn't deserve it anymore.
Many, including the best of past cricketers, think he still has a couple of years left in him. I also think so. And, by the way, I am not a Bengali!
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