Ian Chappell has said in a cricket documentary that Sir Don Bradman's stinginess was a key factor in the World Series Cricket rebellion. He says that his unwillingness, as a top administrator of the Australian Cricket Board (ACB), to pay players better and improve conditions created dissatisfaction among the players. Chappell was one of the 55 players signed by Kerry Packer, who owned Channel 9, to play a rebel series among themselves between 1977 to 1979.

His comments were made in the second of ABC Television's two-part series Cricket in the 70s, The Chappell Era. He said: "Bradman to me has as much to do with the starting of World Series Cricket as anybody, because I got the feeling that Bradman treated the board money as though it was almost his own money.

"He wasn't going to shell out anything."

Chappell said that although Bradman was no longer chairman of the ACB, he dominated two board meetings that Chappell attended to lobby for better condistions for players.

In those days, the ACB was taking gates of up to $250,000 from Test matches while players were receiving $200 each.

Chappell said that he was particularly frustrated because of Bradman's record, in his playing days, of standing up to the ACB for players' rights. He said: "I was well and truly aware of what had gone on in his playing days and the hypocrisy didn't escape me.

"He wasn't going to play in that Bodyline series because he had a contract to write for a newspaper.

"We felt a bit annoyed that he was the one in our camp way back but then the board obviously bought him over," Chappell continued. "They made him a selector while he was still playing and then he went on to become chairman of the board."

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