Chappelli on ABC Classic FM

Ian Chappell is on the book launch circuit at the moment. On September 7 - the day before the Fifth Test started - he did an interview in the rather unlikely location of the ABC's Classic FM studio.

Chappelli was guest of Margaret Throsby on her daily mid-morning program. Throsby's one-hour interview segment, in which the interviewee also gets to program five tracks of music, is one of the underrated gems of Australian broadcasting. (Alas, Classic FM is not streamed live for reasons I have never been able to understand, but the Throsby interviews are available on-demand about three hours after they go to air.)

Despite the fact that Throsby, a veteran ABC broadcaster, does not have a deep knowledge of cricket, I found the interview quite interesting. Chappelli is one of the more intelligent and literate ex-cricketers (as well as being my favourite Channel 9 commentator) as he covers topics ranging from the influence of his grandfather, Victor Richardson, to players' pay conditions in the 1970s (and here he is heavily critical of Don Bradman's role as an administrator), through to his advocacy for detained asylum-seekers.

Chappelli acknowledges the influence of his wife, Barbara, as he names his five chosen tracks (scroll down to 10.05am on that link) for the program - two classical, two R+B, one musical comedy.

Ian Chappell's interview with Margaret Throsby is online in both realaudio and windows media format.