Gregory Stephen Chappell AO MBE is a former cricketer who represented Australia at international level in both Tests and One-Day Internationals. The second of three brothers to play Test cricket, Chappell was the pre-eminent Australian batsman of his time who allied elegant stroke making to fierce concentration. Upright and unbending, with a touch of the tin soldier about his bearing, Greg Chappell was the outstanding Australian batter of his generation. Though he had an appetite for big scores, it was his calm brow and courtly manner that bowlers found just as disheartening. He made a century in his first and final Tests.

Born in Unley, South Australia, Chappell was the second of three sons. He was steeped in the game from a very early age: his father Martin was a noted grade cricketer in Adelaide who put a bat in his hands as soon as he could walk, while his maternal grandfather was the all-round sportsman Vic Richardson, who had captained Australia in Test cricket. Elder brother Ian and younger brother Trevor also played for Australia, and Greg closely followed in Ian's footsteps to the top. Given weekly lessons by coach Lynn Fuller, the brothers fought out fierce backyard cricket matches, with no holds barred. The fraternal relationship between Ian and Greg became legendary in Australian cricketing history for volatile verbal slanging matches, even during hard fought Test matches, which had their genesis in the family backyard.

Greg Chappell was able to dominate schoolboy matches; in one of his matches for the school's First XI he scored a double ton and combined with classmate (and future Test teammate) Ashley Woodcock to put on more than 300 runs for the first wicket against Scotch College. The Chappell brothers played grade cricket for Glenelg and they batted together for the first time in a semi final against Port Adelaide in early 1966. Later that year, Ian was chosen for the Test tour to South Africa, which opened up a place in the South Australian team. Greg seized the opportunity by scoring 101*, 102* and 88 for his club, then made his first-class debut against Victoria at Adelaide Oval, aged 18.

With the return of the Test players the following summer, Chappell held his place in the South Australian side and was promoted to the number four position, following brother Ian at number three. The highlight of Chappell's season was a brilliant 154 against Western Australia, but his continuing preference for leg side shots was seen as a weakness if he wanted to make Test cricket. During a brief dressing room encounter with the great Don Bradman, then a state and national selector, Chappell was advised to change his grip on the bat in order to improve his off-side play. Without hesitation, Chappell made the recommended change and at season's end, wrote to the English county team Somerset, asking for a contract to play county cricket to further his development.

Inbetween these stints in England, Chappell scored 707 runs (including two centuries) in the 1968–69 Australian season, which made him a favourite to break into the Australian squad for the tour of India and South Africa. His subsequent omission in favour of West Australian unknown Jock Irvine cause a sensation at the time. Entering the 1969/70 season, Chappell hit four hundreds to earn a place on an Australian A trip to New Zealand. Scoring 519 runs at 57.70, he was the dominant batsman of the tour and with the Test team failing in South Africa, he only needed a solid start to the next season to force his way in to play against England in the 1970/71 Ashes Series.

After acting as twelfth man in the first Test, he was selected to bat at number seven for the second match, the first Test played at Perth's WACA ground. During an historic century on debut, he teamed with Ian Redpath to add 219 runs and haul Australia out of a difficult situation. Just days after the Test, he belted 102 in two hours against the English in a tour match. However, the dream start affected Chappell, who struggled for the rest of the series, apart from a score of 65 in the last Test. In the main, he was getting out by playing too many big shots early in his innings.

Chappell's new-found approach continued to yield results on the 1972 Ashes tour of England. Going into the second Test at Lord's Cricket Ground, Australia was down 1–0, after losing the first Test at Old Trafford by 89 runs. In a match that would be remembered for Bob Massie's remarkable 16-wicket haul, Chappell's masterful 131 in Australia's first innings was a key component in squaring the series. His game went from strength to strength. In the fifth Test at the Oval, he hit another ton, sharing a big partnership with Ian as they became the first brothers to score Test centuries in the same innings. Against Pakistan he made 116* and 62 at Melbourne and bagged 5 for 61 at Sydney. On the subsequent trip to the West Indies, he achieved the rare feat of scoring a thousand runs on a Caribbean tour, which included 106 in the Test at Bridgetown, Barbados.

With the Australian team now undergoing a dramatic renaissance, Chappell was the leading batsman, giving him a huge national profile. This brought a lucrative offer to move to Brisbane and captain the Queensland side, as a precursor to taking over the Australian captaincy when Ian decided to retire. He made the move in the winter of 1973. The Chappell brothers shattered records in the Wellington Test against New Zealand, as Ian and Greg scored centuries in both innings, the only such instance. Greg's effort of 380 runs in a Test match (247* and 133) remained a record until beaten by Graham Gooch in 1990.

Sufficiently recovered, Chappell totally dominated the season of 1975/76, amassing a record 1547 first-class runs at an average of 85.9, with five centuries. Appointed as Australian captain, Chappell began with a century in each innings to win the first Test against the West Indies in his adopted home town of Brisbane. This performance was unique in Test cricket at the time (later replicated by Virat Kohli of India in 2014). He led the team to an overwhelming 5–1 win and the title of unofficial world champions. His personal highlight was a classic 182* in the Sydney Test.

His leadership abilities were tested in the summer of 1976/77 as a number of new players were blooded and Jeff Thomson was laid low by long-term injury. Australia received much criticism for defensive play during a drawn series with Pakistan, but Chappell's form was faultless, and he scored 121 and 67 in the only Test victory. The tour to New Zealand that followed was similar; it was clear Australia was in a rebuilding phase. During the Test at Auckland, a streaker appeared when Chappell was at the crease. Incensed by this new craze and the disruption that it caused, Chappell grabbed the man and hit his bare backside with the bat.

Chappell formally signed a WSC contract the following month, during the Centenary Test, a one-off match against England commemorating one hundred years of Test cricket. He was offered the most lucrative WSC contract in line with his age and high profile as captain of Australia. Chappell led Australia to a dramatic victory. Some of his players felt that he struggled to cope with the pressure of captaincy during the tense England run chase on the final day, when Australia won a dramatic victory, due to by a marathon bowling spell from Dennis Lillee. But Lillee's absence for the forthcoming tour of England would hamper Chappell's campaign to retain the Ashes.

When WSC players rejoined official cricket for 1979–80, there was plenty of debate over the Australian captaincy. Chappell was the far from unanimous choice, but led the Test team in twin series, against England (won 3–0) and West Indies (lost 0–2), and the first triangular ODI series where Australia failed to reach the final. It was a mixed bag of results, and the programming came in for some criticism. Chappell led by example in scoring 74 and 124 in the Brisbane Test against the West Indies in his comeback to Test cricket. His 98* guided Australia to victory over England at Sydney, then 114 and 40* extracted a similar result at Melbourne.

The 1980/81 season brought another three-way competition, this time with New Zealand and India. In the Tests, Australia had a convincing win over the Kiwis, but was held to a drawn series against India. Chappell was in good form throughout the summer, but managed only two international centuries. The first came at Sydney in an ODI against New Zealand, when Chappell set a then record Australian score of 138*. Early in the new year, on the same ground, he played his first Test against India. Despite suffering a bad stomach upset, Chappell hit 204.

Chappell instigated the underarm bowling incident in the New Zealand–Australia One Day International on 1 February 1981. With the series tied at 1–1, Australia looked to have gained the upper hand by batting first and setting New Zealand a chase of 235 runs. Undisciplined bowling and fielding by the Australians, and a great innings from Kiwi opener Bruce Edgar narrowed the target to 15 with one over to play. Chappell's younger brother, Trevor, a batting all-rounder who specialised in bowling at the end of an innings, delivered the final over.

At this point, Greg Chappell intervened, told his brother to deliver the ball along the ground (i.e. underarm) and he then informed the umpire to let the batsman know of the change of bowling style. Despite the protestations of wicketkeeper Rod Marsh, the ball was delivered, and the batsman simply put his bat in front of the ball to stop. He then hurled his bat away. A large crowd of 50,000 – mostly Australian – loudly booed the Australian team from the field. Chappell’s' decision was universally condemned. Both brothers have expressed regret and embarrassment over the incident. Chappell acknowledged experiencing significant pressure and expressed dissatisfaction with the rigorous demands of the Australian captaincy. He maintains this led to him making a “win at all costs” decision without consideration for the consequences.

From 1981 onwards, Chappell did not make himself available for most overseas tours. Thus Kim Hughes was captain for the 1981 and 1982 tours of England and Pakistan respectively, before Chappell was returned the captaincy for the Australian summers of 1981/82 and 1982/83. Chappell retired as captain in 1983, playing his last test series (1983/84) under Hughes as captain.