Michael Clarke's telling swipe over cricket legends' infamous feud

Former Australia cricket captain Michael Clarke has blamed ego on the refusal of former Test captains Ian Botham and Ian Chappell to end a 46-year feud that has seen both men torched following a documentary based on their rivalry. Channel 9's The Longest Feud: Chappell v Botham explored the hatred between the pair, which began at a Melbourne club game in 1977 and has continued for close to half a century.

Both men gave differing versions on what initially sparked the feud and contradicted each other over their various clashes in the ensuing years. "It's a waste of time talking to a liar. Once a liar, always a liar," Chappell tells Botham.

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Botham responds: "I should have finished you off when I had the chance." Neither man found common ground despite Botham seeming a touch more conciliatory as the pair came face-to-face at the end of the documentary.

Asked if they had anything positive to say about each other, the Englishman conceded Chappell was "a good player and I think would have been a good captain". Chappell replied: "Apart from being the worst long-term commentator of all…(he's) a coward, gutless."

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Viewers ripped into both men but the majority sided with the former England all-rounder over Chappell, who came across as stubborn and bitter. Clarke, who's had his fair share of spats over the years, told Sky Sports Radio: "I just wish they got up and hugged each other or had a beer (at the end).

"Is life not too short? I think about so many people that at times you played hard cricket against or at school you don't get on with or breaking up with a girlfriend. Life is too short for that rubbish. That's ego (at play)."

Clarke pointed out so much time has passed since the Chappell-Botham feud began that the pair would never reach a compromise. He said: "It shows over a period of time you remember things how you remember them.

"When someone writes their autobiography, they write it based on their memory. They don’t think they’re telling lies or manipulating a story or trying to do the wrong thing. They're just telling the story how they remember it."

Former New Zealand wicket-keeper Ian Smith said of the feud: "I don’t see it being a peaceful resolution in this lifetime. It's very serious. I've heard comments from the other about the other.

"He (Ian Botham) is not a back down person and Ian Chappell is certainly not a back down person."

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