Ian Chappell on Enough Rope

I've long been an admirer of Ian Chappell, having fond memories of his batting, his captaincy, his slip fielding, his willingness to drop his daks mid-pitch in the name of wardrobe maintenance. More than that, he has shown himself to be one of that rarest of breeds - an Australian cricketer with a social conscience.

Chappelli was interviewed by Andrew Denton for the October 2 edition of "Enough Rope". The transcript of the half-hour interview is online, as is an MP3 of the full interview as put to air, and a video excerpt.

It is his committment to the cause of refugees seeking asylum in Australia that is, for me, the most significant part of the interview, even though I've heard it elswehere in the past (and I wrote about his ABC radio interview with Margaret Throsby last year).

When it comes to senior Australian cricketers who have displayed a social conscience, there's only Chappelli and Steve Waugh who spring immediately to mind...