Greg Chappell Go Fund Me: Teammates rally around Australian Test great as financial hardship hits home

Australian cricket legend Greg Chappell has fallen on hard times – but a host of former greats and celebrities are pitching in to help him in retirement.

Cricket greats have rallied behind iconic batsman Greg Chappell to try and give him the comfortable retirement that the game couldn’t.

The 75-year-old reluctantly agreed to a Go Fund Me Page being set up in his name earlier this month in conjunction with a testimonial lunch that was held at the MCG last Monday, hosted by Eddie McGuire and attended by cricketing royalty, including brothers Ian and Trevor.

Fellow World Series Cricket giants Dennis Lillee and Rod Marsh both had fundraising testimonials held in their honour which were hugely beneficial in setting up their futures, but Chappell never got one.

Chappell, one of the greatest Australian cricketers of all time, rents his place in Adelaide, but wants to make it clear he is not desperate.

“I’m not on the bones of my arse,” Chappell said.

“I certainly don’t want it to sound like we’re in desperate straits, because we’re not – but we’re not living in luxury either.

Greg Chappell has given an enormous amount to the game of cricket in Australia, as a player, coach and selector. Picture: AAP

“I think most people assume that because we played cricket that we are all living in the lap of luxury. While I’m certainly not crying poor, we’re not reaping in the benefits that today’s players are.”

Chappell’s friends, businessmen Peter Maloney and David Evans saw an irony in the fact Chappell is the face and active driver of the Chappell Foundation, which this year alone raised $1 million for youth homelessness charities.

Yet he himself is doing it tougher than a legend of Australia’s national sport should ever have to.

“Greg is a very proud man. He’s doing it tougher than what he says,” Maloney, one of the organisers of the testimonial, said.

“The Chappell Foundation is run by Darshak Mehta and 100 per cent of the money that is raised gets distributed. They distribute it annually so at the end of each year they don’t leave any money and they’re starting afresh.

“If you put your name to a foundation you’re entitled to take some money out of it. But Greg hasn’t taken a cent out of it, even though he could have.

The Chappell Foundation raises money for youth homelessness charities.

“I guess that was the irony that he was the face of it and turning up to every function and he’s raising all this money while he didn’t have a hell of a lot himself.

“Put it this way, we will probably end up raising about $250,000 out of it, and it will significantly enhance his last few years.”

Maloney said the Go Fund Me page, which is currently up to over $72,000 raised, was set up because it was impractical to organise pay facilities for the one-off lunch held on Monday.

“Normally when we do the lunches we have a pledge card and you have eftpos machines. We didn’t have time to get one set up or at least set up for one event, which would have been pretty onerous,” Maloney said.

“The quickest way to do it was a Go Fund Me page.”

Chappell played 87 Tests for Australia, and is considered one of the country’s finest ever batsmen.

The Chappell testimonial was attended by former CA chief executive James Sutherland, current Chairman Mike Baird, while Alan Jones and Lillee both delivered tributes via video link.

Maloney hosts the Maloney Long Lunch in Canberra which has raised a lot of money for the Chappell Foundation, but earlier this year he told Chappell that he wanted his next lunch to be for him.

Chappell found it a difficult offer to accept.

“I knew he’d had a few health issues and he wasn’t going all that well financially,” Maloney said.

“I said, ‘well did you ever get a testimonial dinner?’

“When I asked the question, being a good salesman, I asked the question and shut up. And after a few minutes of deadly silence, his wife was there, and I think she might have kicked him under the table and said, ‘yes.’ I think that’s how it happened.”

Chappell was Australia’s Chief National Selector in recent years. Picture: AAP

Chappell said beneath the extraordinary riches of the modern Australian cricketer, is countless secret tales of struggle from great players who have never been properly remunerated for the role they played in making the game what it is in this country.

Before cricketers formed their own union in the late 1990s following some heroic work from Tim May, James Erskine and Steve Waugh, cricketers were never paid what they should have been.

Famously, Allan Border’s last contract, signed in 1993, contained a retainer of just $90,000.

A standard throwaway line from batting great Arthur Morris when asked at functions what the game had given him, he would reply, “poverty.”

It always drew a laugh, but behind the scenes it was no laughing matter for dozens of Australian cricketers.

Former Australian captain Allan Border (L) never had the opportunity to earn the riches that have come to modern players, like Steve Smith (C). Picture: AAP

In India, the BCCI set up a scheme where past players who had retired before the T20 riches were injected into the game in the early 2000s were treated to a cash bonanza in recognition of their role as forbearers.

Chappell hopes his story might inspire Australian cricket to also better look after past players.

“It is just my friends who realised that we didn’t get a lot and just to make sure that Judy and I were comfortable in our retirement,” Chappell said.

“To be fair, there are others of our era who are in more dire circumstances that could do with the help and I don’t think the game has done enough for players of that era. Particularly in relation to the comparison with today’s era.

“I believe the players that set the scene for what’s happening today should probably be recognised for the role they played in getting the game to where it is today.

“It was just an amazing day. We had a lovely lunch. It was great. Ian Redpath was there. He was the first one I batted with in Test cricket. I was very glad that he could be there and having Ian and Trev was obviously great.”

Friends are rallying around Chappell, who insists he’s not ‘on the bones of his arse’. Picture: AAP

Chappell Foundation Chairman, Mehta, said the game needed to do more for players like Chappell.

“Australian cricketers of the 1960s, 70s and early 80s totally missed out on the financial bonanza which cricketers fortunate to have played thereafter have experienced. It is something that both Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers Association need to reflect on and remedy,” Mehta said.

“In this regard, the BCCI’s pioneering efforts should be complimented (and emulated) – for looking after not only past Indian Test cricketers, but also their First Class cricketers, with a pension scheme which is more than a minimal financial safety net.

“Of course, being a highly resourced organisation, they can afford to be magnanimous. But the fact is that they have chosen to be.

Chappell’s charity work has been lauded.

“It is high time that Australian cricket and current Australian cricketers considered and worked towards assisting those who played for their country but were not privileged to be financially as secure as themselves. They have, after all, benefited from the great goodwill and reputation Australian cricket as a brand has built up, thanks to their committed predecessors.

“Greg Chappell has selflessly given his time for decades to numerous altruistic causes. Alleviating youth homelessness is his passion and this year alone, The Chappell Foundation has distributed over $1m to keep kids off the streets.

“It’s great to see Greg’s friends, who are wonderful, generous people, rally around him and do something like this (the GC Tribute Dinner).

“I have nothing but admiration for them, as I do Greg.

“Greg works tirelessly for charity and has been helping other people all his life. He has never taken anything in return, at The Chappell Foundation we are all volunteers.”

Heroes of Australian cricket: Dennis Lillee, Greg Chappell and Rod Marsh.

Maloney hopes his testimonial for Chappell becomes a “template” for Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers Association to honour and help out other greats of previous eras.

“I had dinner last night with Paul Marsh (son of Rod) … Rod was in a really bad way after he was sacked from World Series Cricket and he was out selling insurance door to door and what only really saved him was the job at the cricket academy. Again, another high profile person that was not in a good position,” Maloney said.

“Part of doing it is it’s almost like a template. There must be lots of guys if you go back to when Greg played.

“The first nine years were all amateur, virtually. Everyone thought World Series Cricket would (be life changing) but it only went for two and a half years. And Greg was one of the high profile guys.

“Cricket wouldn’t be in the position it currently is if you look at Greg’s years post playing and what he’s done as a selector and a coach and a talent identifier.

“Hopefully the players association or Cricket Australia will acknowledge that there’s a lot of guys there, virtually destitute and this is a means of doing it where the cricket community comes together.”

Originally published as Greg Chappell Go Fund Me: Teammates rally around Australian Test great as financial hardship hits home