![]() ![]() Bradman was contracted to write articles as part of his employment with Associated Newspapers, the Sydney Sun and Radio 2UE. Way back in 1932, Bradman was locked in a stand-off with the ACB. The comparison with Bradman is interesting. ![]() Even the game’s ruling body acknowledged the man’s contribution when ICC President Ehsan Manisaid, “Packer took the game by the scruff of the neck and dragged it into the modern era.” The minute's silenceas a mark of respect before the start of the second day of the Australia-South Africa Test and Cricket Australia chairman Creagh O'Connor’s comment that Packer has to be seen on the same pedestal alongside the venerated Sir Donald Bradman as an influencing figure for Australia said it all. When the peace treaty was signed, the man who was seen as pariah by the ICC was now viewed as a messiah. Channel 9 brought an exciting new dimension to coverage of cricket matches, and it has sustained its desire for innovations till this day. The innovations in the abridged version of the game – coloured clothing, white balls, helmets, stump cameras, stump microphone, flood-lights, drinks buggies, etc - has its origin in WSC. Packer ripped off the mask of conservatism and gave it a trendy make-over. If cricket made the transition from a traditional English pastime pursuit to a megabuck sport with a pop culture image that excited the masses, it’s because of the Australian impresario who dared to take on a smug establishment that languished far behind its times. ![]() But such notions got a posthumous change when Australian Prime Minister John Howardhighlighted the much-maligned man’s generous and philanthropic side that few knew outside Australia. What is your price?" Arrogant? An in-your-face, hard-nosed businessman? A moneybag who believed money is a master key to open any lock? An overgrown brat who had to get what he wanted at any cost? One or all of the above may find takers as the popular perception of the man outside Australia was mostly negative. But the veteran led from the front against the spin trio of Bedi, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar and Erapalli Prasanna, with scores of 89, 176 and 100 adding lustre to his remarkable consistency.īut what does one make out of Packer who, in his quest to win the telecast rights, is famously quoted as telling the ACB mandarins (chairman Bob Parish and treasurer Ray Steele): “There is a little bit of the whore in all of us, gentlemen. Simmo had last played a Test in 1968 – coincidentally against India, where Bedi bowled him for seven in the first innings. For Packer, it was war against the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) for its refusal to accept an A$1.5m bid over rights to telecast of Tests and Sheffield Shield matches.Īustralia lost 18 of the their top cricketers to the WSC, forcing the ACB to recall a near 42-year old Bobby Simpsonout of his retirement and lead a bunch of greenhorns (as many as six debuted in the first Test of the series) against Bishan Singh Bedi’s touring Indians in 1977-78. But it was a reflection of the turbulent times when the Australian tycoon flexed his financial muscle to get 60 of the finest and biggest cricketers from Australia, the West Indies, South Africa, Pakistan and England to align on his side of the divide. ![]() Mercifully for Indian cricket, none of its players signed up for Packer’s breakaway World Series Cricket (WSC). But the one that had a seismic effect back home was the disturbing news that Kerry Packer’s agent, Lynton Taylor, had flown into Pakistan and was in talks with eight of the biggest names in Indian cricket, including Sunil Gavaskar. There were many unforgettable moments in the series, notably the arrival of a promising young fast bowler - Kapil Dev Nikhanj. Memories flashback to 1978 when India and Pakistan overcame historical pride and prejudices to meet on the cricket field for the first time in 17 years. ![]()
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