Ian Chappell: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

Ian Chappell ‘Clubs’ Mitchell Johnson and Peter Siddle

What he said:

“The problem is they also bowl plenty that could be hit to the boundary by a proficient club batsman.”

Ian Chappell diagnoses the ills plaguing Australia’s pace bowlers.

Chappell wrote:

Both Johnson and Siddle bowl deliveries good enough to dismiss any Test batsman.The problem is they also bowl plenty that could be hit to the boundary by a proficient club batsman. Johnson’s problem is one of confidence. Consequently, he’s often running up to bowl half expecting something to go wrong and is fighting a battle with himself as much as the batsman down the other end.

What he really meant:

“Siddle and Johnson are quite capable of bowling balls of this century—to club players.”

What he definitely didn’t: