World Series Cricket was set up by a very rich Australian man called Kerry Packer who had been trying to secure TV rights for his Channel Nine network. The Australian Cricket Board and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation had a long-standing relationship and therefore, Packer’s offer was turned down in 1976 even though it was worth more than ABC’s. Once this happened, he decided to broadcast cricket because he thought he can be at par with his rivals.  

 

At that time, cricketers were hardly paid anything and hence Packer said that cricket was “the easiest sport… nobody bothered to pay the players what they were worth”. He could acquire many cricketers from all over the world due to this. This happened between late 1976 through to May 1977. Packer and all the cricketers who had been acquired, kept it so secret that rumours started to spread just a few weeks before the event started.  

 

The reaction of the establishment was anger. Some boards, mainly led by Australia and England banned the players who had agreed to take part and sued Packer. However, Packer claimed that the boards were restraining him from carrying out a legitimate business and eventually, won the case.  

 

A few of the players said that it was the hardest cricket they had ever played because the best legends of the time were playing (eg: Sir Vivian Richards, Tony Greig, Richard Hadlee, Michael Holding and many,many more. For example, Ian Chappell said "How the **** could you get back into form when you were playing Roberts, Holding, Garner day after day,"

 

The sport changed drastically but gradually after that. Quite a few matches of the World Series Cricket included floodlights, coloured kits, white balls, helmets and drop-in pitches. One of the biggest changes after that was the fact that cricketers’ pay increased significantly. If the World Series Cricket hadn’t taken place, all these new innovations would not be there in the cricketing world.