Former India head coach Greg Chappell has launched a scathing critique of modern batting after Australia and England’s repeated collapses in the ongoing Ashes Test series. England’s four-wicket win in the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne, a match that ended inside two days reignited debate around the pitch, but Chappell believes the real issue lies elsewhere.
The former Australia batter, who played 87 Tests and 74 ODIs, argued that today’s batters are hiding behind “reckless intent” to disguise a worrying decline in temperament and technique.
“Two Tests in this series failed to reach day three not because of extraordinary bowling, but due to a glaring lack of desire,” Chappell wrote in his column for ESPNcricinfo. “Batters slashed wildly, abandoning sound technique for bravado, as though playing their ‘natural game’ somehow justified collapse.”
Now 77, Chappell warned that Test cricket is facing an identity crisis, with players seemingly unwilling to make the physical and mental sacrifices that once defined the format.
“They let down those who bled for this rivalry, shortchanged fans who braved the holiday heat, and betrayed their own generation by abandoning the game’s core values — playing each ball on merit, fighting for every run, and enduring pain for the greater good,” he added.
Chappell also pointed to the growing influence of white-ball cricket, where instant impact is prized over patience and perseverance, as a major factor behind Test cricket’s decline.
“I understand that white-ball cricket has reshaped priorities and that power now holds greater market value than resilience,” he wrote. “But if modern players truly value Test cricket, they must prove it by batting collectively for at least 100 overs in any conditions. If they cannot or will not do that, then the format is doomed.”
The fifth and final Ashes Test begins on January 4 in Sydney, with Australia holding an unassailable 3–1 lead in the series.
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