A Glorious Life
A Glorious Life celebrates two Australian sporting legends, Bill Lawry and Ian Chappell.
Both men rose to hold one of the highest offices in the land: captaining the Australian cricket test team. Both men are ferociously fierce competitors who triumphed with the bat and earned the respect of their men and the nation.
While both stand tall in an arena of Australian sporting legends, the end of their playing days was not the end of their place in public life. Far from it. Both went on to shape the revolution in sports broadcasting that was heralded by Kerry Packerâs World Series Cricket.
Bill became the incomparable sound of summer - combining his passion for the game with his expert knowledge and infectious enthusiasm.
Ian, more measured in style but no less passionate brought his razor-sharp intellect and analysis to every ball and captainâs call. Teamed up with Richie Benaud and Tony Grieg, they formed the founding four who would become the pillars of cricket broadcasting ever since.
Beyond playing and calling the game they love, Ian and Bill have lived rich lives. For both men, family and friendship are sacrosanct. Loyalty is unbreakable. Integrity is central.
For Bill, competitive pigeon racing has been his life-long passion beyond family and cricket. For Ian, itâs a love of music and for the past 20 years, lending his profile and voice to the plight of refugees and asylum seekers with Australia for UNHCR.
A Glorious Life celebrates the Australian men and women whose lives have been a âgame of two halvesâ. Those who triumphed in the sporting arena and then went on to conquer new heights, to make a major contribution in other areas of Australian public life.
A Glorious Life: Bill Lawry
Airing Monday July 27 at 9.20pm
Bill Lawry triumphed on the cricket pitch and in the commentary box. A stoic opening batsman, uncompromising Test captain and the most enthusiastic of commentators, Bill is beloved by cricket fans from Melbourne to Mumbai.
At 83, Bill is as energetic and enthusiastic as ever, a raconteur who lived, played and called some of the greatest moments in cricket. From his first Ashes tour to England in 1961 under captain Richie Benaud to being one of the founding commentators in Kerry Packerâs World Series Cricket revolution, Bill has been in the public imagination for 6 decades.
As Mark Nicholas observes, âBill is cultâ - though that wasnât only of Billâs making. When Billy Birmingham launched The Twelfth Man, his comic characterisation of Bill Lawry launched him into another stratosphere in the publicâs imagination - celebrating his unique commentary style, his on-air partnership with Tony Greig and of course Billâs passion for pigeon racing. Bill Lawry became the sound of summer - the voice that came to shape not only cricket commentary but sports broadcasting.
A Glorious Life celebrates Bill in all his colours and across all his achievements.
A Glorious Life: Ian Chappell will air the following Monday, August 3. Both documentaries are hosted by Peter Overton.
Promo
Couldnât they have gotten a Melbourne presenter to interview Bill Lawry rather than Peter Overton?
Will this be available on 9Now
Jonathan Harley, the executive producer of A Glorious Life, also wrote a piece for Wide World of Sports website.
Hello guys, I have missed out watching A Glorious Life Bill Lawry Special. Where can I watch this as catchup for this afternoon?
9Now.
The Bill Lawry special got a very positive reception on social media last night.
I watched it today, quite enjoyable. Thought the only thing missing was his commentary work prior to joining Nine for WSC. I believe some work at HSV doing district cricket and a test series or two there and ATV along with several others who went to Nine.
Not sure about Peter Overton, doesnât seem the right fit for this type of thing.
This afternoon after having a meeting on Zoom, i had the chance to watch the Bill Lawry Glorious LIfe on 9Now. Inside the show, Peter Overton had an interview with Lawry. Bill worked with many commentators on nine for many years. For example Mark Nicholas, tubby, Warne, Chappell, benaud. As well, this show had a glimpse of his wife, his children and grandchildren.
When Nine lost the cricket rights in APril 2018, it was the end of an era for Summer of Cricket. Bill Lawry announced his retirement from commentary. What an icon. âGot him! Its all over for him!â
Jim Maxwellâs original tweet:
A Glorious Life: Ian Chappell
Monday 3 August at 9.25pm
Few Australians stand as tall in the public imagination as Ian Chappell. His aggressive batting style and captaincy of the Australian test team shaped one of the defining teams and times of Australian cricket.
He paved the way for his brothers Greg and Trevor in what became known simply as âThe Chappell Eraâ. However, his leadership on the field is only half of the âChappelliâ story. Off the field, Ian was a fearless and unrelenting champion for his men to get better pay and conditions - which saw him come head-to-head with cricket administrators and then lead Kerry Packerâs rebel side.
Few leaders inspire such loyalty as Ian Chappell - his ability to bring the best out of his men is legendary and, to this day, that loyalty remains rock-solid from Dennis Lillee to Rodney Marsh, Doug Walters to Jeff Thomson.
Beyond the pitch, Ian came to shape the future of sports broadcasting, hosting Nineâs Wide World of Sports with Mike Gibson under production supremo David Hill. Together, they pioneered a new brand of sports broadcasting, building on the revolution that was World Series Cricket. Bringing his razor-sharp intellect and uncompromising views, Ianâs journalism has seen him succeed across TV, radio and print across half a century.
More recently, he has also lend his voice and support to the plight of refugees and asylum seekers, as an advocate with Australia for UNHCR. Today, at 76, Ian Chappell shows no signs of slowing down - writing, commentating and ever competitive.
https://twitter.com/Channel9/status/1289750306847223813?s=20
The headline is a bit misleading because Nine Entertainment CEO Hugh Marks said he would talk to relevant parties regarding the FTA broadcast deal now that the menâs T20 World Cup had been postponed to 2022.
This is a surprise. Nine wants the cricket back, and according to Marks Ten wants the Big Bash.
I am not surprised by this.
When you think of the make up for summer events, test cricket is now played from mid November to the first week of Jan.
With the new tennis program, that has changed the start date, the minor tennis tournaments in Adelaide/Brisbane etc would be played on GEM with the Sydney Test on Nine.
At the end of the Cricket, the Australian Open would start, which from a commercial sense, would mean high numbers continually watching nine for the two biggest summer sports!
And if they get it cheap than bingo to the start of any new ratings year.
Mark has always said they want cricket and sporting events if the price is right, paying overs for sport makes it harder to bring in commercial money from advertisers.
When Seven had the rights to the Australian Open, it was also wanting test cricket to fill in the schedule gap after the end of spring racing carnival. After Nine grabbed the tennis, Seven had no choice but to pay more for test cricket AND the BBL (and on-selling ODI and T20 internationals to Foxtel).
Nine will only take the Cricket back if itâs a good offer $$$. They wonât take anything unless if works for them. They will be paying less than what Seven would be offering at the end of the day.
"In the right circumstances, if the strategy is right, of course we would be interested in re-engaging," Marks said on Friday.