World Series Cricket (1977- 1979) – Nostalgia Central

White balls, bright uniforms, night matches, batsmen and bowlers paid and acting like celebrities . . . it’s just not cricket!

World Series Cricket (WSC), the brainchild of Kerry Packer, the owner of Australia’s Channel Nine, was the result of his dispute with the Australian Cricket Board over cricket’s TV rights.

Packer (pictured at right) wanted to secure the exclusive broadcasting rights to Australian cricket, which was then held by the non-commercial, government-owned Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC)

After the Cricket Board refused to accept his bid for exclusive television rights to Australia’s Test matches in 1976, Packer bought the game’s best players and set up a rival competition featuring a host of innovations, including night cricket.

He secretly signed agreements with leading Australian, English, Pakistani, South African and West Indian players, most notably England captain Tony Greig, West Indies captain Clive Lloyd, Australian captain Greg Chappell, future Pakistani captain Imran Khan and former Australian captain Ian Chappell.

Packer was aided by businessmen John Cornell and Austin Robertson, both of whom were involved with the initial setup and administration of the series.

Not unexpectedly, the English were critical of what they quickly dubbed the “Packer Circus” and reserved particular vitriol for the English captain Tony Greig, for his central role in organising the breakaway.

Greig retained his position in the England team, but was stripped of the captaincy and ostracised by everyone in the cricket establishment.

It seemed certain that all Packer players would be banned from Test and first-class cricket. The Australian players were divided, and management made their displeasure clear to the Packer signees.

Dispirited by this turn of events and hampered by poor form and indifferent weather, Australia crashed to a 3–0 defeat, surrendering the Ashes they had won two years earlier.

The initial viewer response to the brash new game was lukewarm, and coverage of the ‘traditional’ Tests outdid the WSC “Super Tests”.

In summer 1978, though, a crowd of 50,000 turned out for a day-night game at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Cricket fans watching from the comfort of their armchairs had the best view in the house, thanks to Nine’s instant slow-motion replays, fast-paced editing, close-ups of players and fans, and cameras at both ends of the pitch.

There was also more to hear, courtesy of the in-pitch microphones that picked up not only the sound of bat on ball but also – sometimes embarrassingly – the colourful language of the players.

The best things in life are not free, of course, so fans had to adjust to advertisements popping up between overs. With night cricket propelling the sport into prime time, sponsors were not hard to find, and the ratings suggested audiences were happy to see their cricket subsidised in that manner.

Marketing was also a major tool for World Series Cricket, and revolutionised the way cricket in Australia was marketed, with the catchy C’mon Aussie C’mon theme song, the simple logo, the coloured clothing worn by the players, and a range of merchandise.

The conflict ended with a compromise between Packer and the Australian Cricket Board: Packer’s Channel Nine was granted the exclusive rights to broadcast Australian cricket for ten years. He was also given a ten-year deal to promote and market the game through his company, PBL.

World Series Cricket was disbanded, and its players were reintegrated into the official Australian team

Although WSC did not last beyond 1979, it drastically changed the nature of cricket, and its influence continues to be felt today.