Although he was clearly still good enough, Redpath retired to work full time at his antiques business in Geelong. However, a year later he would be lured back to the game by an offer to play World Series cricket, where he featured for two seasons, although he missed most of the first due to injury.
In one piece for him Australian Last year, Gideon Haigh wrote: “Given there are so few pictures of Redpath, how can we imagine him? He was a difficult man to dismiss: he knew where his off-stump was; he played straight, with a short response, mainly off the back foot; in those pre-helmet days, he was more of a bowler who swung and dodged bouncers. On his Sunicrust cricket card, he was pictured playing a leg look.”
“As an excellent opening batsman, Ian was a mainstay of the national team during one of the great eras of Australian cricket and loved by many around the world for his courage, impeccable sportsmanship and wry humour.”
Early in his international career, he had been the last Australian to play as an amateur when he turned down his match fee in 1963-64 to maintain his amateur career in Australian rules football.
He was vice-captain to Ian and Greg Chappell, and batted alongside the latter when he scored a century on debut against England in 1970-71.
“My first innings in Test cricket was, unsurprisingly, a difficult experience, but it turned out to be one of the best cricket lessons of my career, thanks to Ian Redpath,” Greg Chappell later wrote, “… Fortunately, we both made it and Our partnership put us in a strong position, but in my view, I had received an invaluable lesson in what Test batting was from one of the bravest batsmen to ever play for Australia.”
In 1975 Redpath was awarded an MBE and would go on to coach Victoria. In January 2023 he was inducted into the cricket Australia Hall of Fame. In 2024, the Geelong cricket Club renamed their scoreboard after Redpath.
“Ian was a much loved and revered figure and everyone in Australian cricket will be enormously saddened by his passing,” Baird said.
“As an excellent opening batsman, Ian was a mainstay of the national team during one of the great eras of Australian cricket and loved by many around the world for his courage, impeccable sportsmanship and wry humour.
“We had the privilege of listening to Ian speak of the wonderful experiences and relationships that cricket had provided since his induction into the Australian cricket Hall of Fame in 2023 and this deep love for the game manifested itself in his enormous contribution to cricket in first class and in the community level.
“This is enormously sad news as we say goodbye to one of the greats of our game and a very proud Victorian in Ian Redpath,” Hepburn said. “On behalf of cricket Victoria, I would like to express our sincere condolences to Ian’s family, particularly his four children and many friends and teammates across an entire cricketing generation.
“Ian’s talent on the field and his leadership saw him contribute to one of the great eras of Australian cricket and he leaves a remarkable legacy for the game at national, state and local level.
“‘Redders’, as we affectionately knew him, was a gifted storyteller with a wonderful wry sense of humour. His friendship and presence will be missed by many in our cricket community.
“Despite being out of the game for a few years, his involvement continued to be powerful off the field. In March this year, he led some spirited applause for Casey South Melbourne in the Premier cricket final against Carlton at Windy Hill. In recent weeks I have recorded an interview for the VicStateCricket podcast and attended a Past Players Association event at our headquarters.
