On December 22, 1977, the first “Super Test” was played between WSC Australia XI and the WSC West Indies XI organised by the World Series Cricket (WSC), a breakaway cricket organisation funded by Kerry Packer, the Australian media tycoon.
Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer was born on 17th December 1937 and inherited the family business upon the death of his father, Sir Frank Packer in 1974. The business included the controlling interests in the Australian Consolidated Press and Nine Network, usually referred to as Channel Nine. Kerry Packer, then 33 years old, and having played in various sports during his childhood was an ardent fan of cricket. He was also in the business of airing open-to-air TV programs. A shrewd businessman, he brusque and forthright, and ruffled many a feather in his day.
The rebuff
When Kerry Packer decided that he could make more money out of cricket and it would also benefit the administration, players and the viewers, he bid for the rights to broadcast the home Test matches that Australia played in. His bid, at AUD1.5 million to the Australian Cricket Board (ACB, now Cricket Australia or CA), was eight times the amount that the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) was paying the board. The ACB still awarded the contracted to the ACB.
An obdurate Kerry Packer, determined to get cricket coverage on his network, decided that he will not bow down to this ‘old boy’s club’ business. With a germ of an idea ignited in him by two other businessmen, Austin Robertson and John Cornell, Kerry Packer set about compiling a parallel cricket organisation to counter the might of the establishment. He began by talking to the then-popular Australian cricketers and apprising them of his plans.
Kerry Packer persists
In Australia, he managed to convince Dennis Lillee, Greg Chappell, Ian Chappell and the touring Tony Greig in early 1977. By the time of the Australian tour of England for the Ashes later that year, he had more than a couple of dozen players lined up and access to players from other countries playing in the English summer. Clive Lloyd came on board while the Australians lost the Ashes. He also got the support of Richie Benaud, a test all-rounder and devout student of cricket, a fantastic commentator and a shrewd organiser. The media got a whiff what was cooking and promptly labelled the undertaking as the ‘Packer Circus’.
The establishment was shaken to the core. It was made abundantly clear that those who acquiescent to Packer would be barred from all forms of cricket. Several of the top players started having second thoughts. Packer and the players were lambasted by the media and the ICC threatened to cancel their contracts. Backed by Packer, Tony Greig, John Snow and Mike Procter challenged the TCCB in the High Court. They accused the latter of restraining them from earning their livelihood from their expertise and won the case. The TCCB was directed to pay the court costs.
Hurdles and innovations
Despite the resounding success in the courts Packer had to face many hurdles. Packer was prevented from using the country names for the teams, calling the contests ‘Tests’ and from the use of official cricket rules. He was refused the use of cricket pitches. Packer responded by calling the matches ‘Super tests’, formulating new rules, and hiring rugby grounds in which pre-laid pitches grown in hothouses were lowered by cranes just before the matches.
The first ‘Super Test between the WSC Australian XI and the WSC West Indies XI was played at the VFL Park, Victoria. With the sympathies of the patriotic spectators being with the cricketing bodies and a traditional tour of the visiting Indian side in progress the attendance for the match was poor. In the 79,000 capacity stadium, the lack of spectators was stark. The 1977-78 seasons was not a very successful one for the WSC, and Kerry Packer was in trouble. The WSC was had pumped in a lot of money into cricket.
Packer did not believe that spinners had a big role to play in cricket contests and promoted a game as a battle between the bat and missile like ball hurtling at the batsmen. With Pakistan, South Africa and New Zealand joining the rebel group, most of the fast bowlers of the time had signed for the WSC. The WSC management also decided to use coloured dresses for the teams. To boost attendances, Packer decided to focus more on One Day Matches and played them as day and night games.
Confrontation with the Establishment
The Official cricket bodies of the respective countries stopped selecting a player with the WSC on their national teams. When the official Australian side toured the West Indies in 1978 the board reluctantly selected some of the players to play in the series. Clive Lloyd and other West Indian players in the WSC promptly declared themselves unavailable to play. The West Indian board relented and started negotiations with WSC. Pakistan also followed suit soon afterwards as did New Zealand.
The WSC kept on the assault by recruiting the younger and retired players from different countries. TheyThey planned and conducted tours to other nations with commendable success. The day and night matches with the players in coloured clothing had an appeal to both the spectators and the broadcast timings were conveniently in the post office hours. In the second season, 1978-79, the WSC flourished and started ruling the roost. Advertisers flocked to the playgrounds as well as on-air with increased television ratings and match attendances.
The Establishment succumbs
By this time the ACB and other cricketing boards were in dire financial straits themselves and capitulated. The ACB capitulated and awarded Channel Nine a ten-year contract to broadcast and market the game through a new company, PBL marketing and the ICC was left fuming. But there was very little any of them could do. Kerry packer too had invested a lot of money but achieved what he set out to do and did much more in the bargain.
So what did cricket gain?
The game and those associated with it gained more from Kerry Packer's persistence than was believed possible for one man to contribute. He, in his uncompromising endeavour to secure the broadcasting rights for Channel Nine, showed the powers that be how the game could be marketed to the benefit of all concerned. The administrators, the players, the support staff including coaches, groundsmen, cameramen, commentators and the player were suddenly earning in multiples of what they were earning before.
The players were fitter due to the heavy schedules. Safety gear for the players was introduced and improved in quality, after a bouncer from Andy Roberts crashing into David Hookes’ jaw. And they were paid better. Grounds were upgraded and fitted lights for day and night games and more stadiums were built. The spectators got their money’s worth from better coverage and the sponsors and advertisers from better TV ratings. Today cricket players and cricket boards are among the richest in the World.
In short, everyone was enjoying cricket and getting more out of the game. The establishment started adopting rules out of the WSC rulebook to make the game more competitive and appealing. After India won the ICC World Cup in 1983 a whole new audience, almost one-fifth of the world’s population with access to television and with a fanatical following across gender and ages, joined the carnival. Kerry Packer did as much for cricket as Mark McCormack did to other sports, sportsmen and audiences.
Kerry Packer died on Boxing Day 2005. He had transformed the way that cricket was organised, played, broadcast and viewed by a long mile in just two years. His contribution to the game and other involved with the game needs to be recognised by the ICC and the various other national boards governing the game.
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