5 Controversies of the 1900s which Changed Cricket Forever

#1 Kerry Packer and World Series Cricket

A still from one of the matches of World Series Cricket; Image Credits: Wisden

The Incident

Australian Cricket Board (ACB) denied Australian media mogul, Kerry Packer, TV rights in favour of the state broadcaster Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

In May 1977, it was announced that Packer has signed international cricketers around the world and will stage World Series Cricket (WSC) head to head with the 1977-78 Australian cricket calendar.

The battle between ACB and Packer continued for 2 years. While the first season of WSC, didn't give much of a competition, it was in the second season that WSC really started gaining popularity. And the impact was not just limited to ACB's revenues, it started affecting other cricket playing nations as well.

There was a point in time when Packer's cricketing circus had more than four dozen players. Because of more rewards players were defaulting their commitments to their National boards and were playing for Packer. While today's league cricket is supported by national cricketing boards, it was league cricket directly competing with ACB.

On May 30, 1979, Packer and ACB reached a resolution. Packer's Channel Nine got the broadcasting rights and Packer got a 10-year deal to promote and market the game.

The Impact

As much of a headache it was for ACB and then later the ICC, WSC brought in most of what we know about limited overs cricket presently. From coloured clothing to helmets, more ODIs and cricket under floodlights, it was all a result of Packer's passion for popularizing the game.

Think we missed anything? Which one do you think affected the game the most? Let us know in the comments.