World Series Cricket - October 1977

Derek Underwood says, in answer to the question concerning what he will do when he stops playing cricket, "That's the biggest worry of my life." He says he has no academic qualifications.

In Adelaide, David Hookes says he will honour his commitment to Packer. He regards his cricket future as a business as well as a sport. He had been in discussion with SACA president Peter Ridings, who had offered him a combined sponsorship deal to keep him in representative cricket.

October 6 Day 9 of the High Court hearing - Asif Iqbal, after prefacing his evidence with the oath "I swear by Allah that the evidence I shall give...", says that he announced his retirement from Test cricket before he received an offer from Packer. The ban came as a shock to him as there was no conflict with his commitment to Kent, from whom he received £4600 this year. In addition he got £1000 from an equipment company, plus about £500 a month from the National Bank of Pakistan until August, when payments had ceased. He says that he missed the best part of his married life and the pleasures of seeing his young family grow up because of cricket commitments.

Lynton Taylor, a business associate of Kerry Packer's, says he thought the meeting at Lord's on June 23 was no more than a public relations exercise, with the ICC not genuinely interested in a compromise.

The defence claim - and are granted - an amendment to their defence, under the Trade Union and Labour Relations Act, 1974: that they are employers' associations within the meaning of the Act and, as such, are entitled to immunity if found to be in restraint of trade. Mr Alexander claims that this is "a plea despotically to ruin the lives of professional cricketers."

In Auckland, New Zealand umpire Ralph Gardiner turns down a contract to officiate in World Series matches.

October 7 Day 10 of the High Court hearing - Mr Kempster, opening the defence, refers to the "essentially parasitic" nature of the World Series. "Its raw materials are, and can only be, the outstanding players whose reputations have been established, and whose skills have been and are being nurtured in playing conventional cricket games for and against teams including players of lesser attainment." He grants that the concept of World Series Cricket has had a number of beneficial effects, stimulating sponsors for traditional cricket, providing greater rewards for star cricketers, and tempting back several who had retired. However, he continues, the series apparently came into being not as an exercise in philanthropy, or for benefiting cricketers, or for improving the game generally; it was a calculated threat to the Australian Cricket Board. He claims that the Packer contracts are void because the players had already been under contract to their respective counties. "The continued prosperity of this sport," he says, "and continued pleasure which it affords to so many people must be in the public interest."

It becomes clear, after an exchange between Mr Kempster and Mr Justice Slade, that the court's decision would be binding on the TCCB; with regard to the ICC, Mr Kempster says, "any declaration could only have direct effect within the jurisdiction of this court."

Ray Steele, treasurer of the Australian Board, and first defence witness, states that a diminution of Test match income would have "a very serious effect at all levels" of cricket. Two parallel series in Australia would mean divided gates, divided sponsorship, and divided television receipts, and would be disastrous in financial terms. He says that Packer, at a meeting with the Board's television negotiating sub-committee, said "I am probably wasting your time and my time, because I am only interested in exclusive television rights. It was the first time,' says Steele, `I even knew that Channel 9 were interested in exclusive rights."

October 9 A statement by West Indies Players' Association secretary Deryck Murray declares that all the players expect to be available for the home series against Australia. "We are therefore astounded by the official reaction of the West Indies Cricket Board of Control (to ban Packer signatories)".

October 10 Day 11 of the High Court hearing before Mr Justice Slade, in which World Series Cricket Pty Ltd, together with Tony Greig, Mike Procter, and John Snow seek injunctions on the International Cricket Conference and the Test and County Cricket Board to prevent them from banning World Series players from Test and other first-class cricket. Australian Cricket Board treasurer R. C. Steele continues his evidence all day, saying he considered that Kerry Packer was "mad" not to have accepted the compromise offered by the ICC at the June 23 meeting at Lord's, just as, with hindsight, the ICC were "mad" to have offered it in the first place. It would have meant propping Packer up for two or three years, at the end of which "the pistol would still be loaded", and if Packer were not then offered exclusive TV rights for Australian cricket "he would pull the trigger". Players who had signed with Packer were to be treated as outcasts, he says, because the board had been placed in a "frightful dilemma" (apropos its sponsorship commitments) by the players' unavailability for the Test team. They thought they could have the best of both worlds. Steele says he believes the World Series will have a very serious effect on attendances at the Australia-India Tests because the public would prefer to watch the `circus matches' on TV at the same time. Referring to the Packer contracts, he adds that an executive of the company had told him that the only way a player could get out of his contract was "to get pregnant".

October 11 Day 12 of the High Court hearing - Continuing evidence, Ray Steele claims that, during negotiations with the Australian Board, Kerry Packer had said, "Come on, we are all harlots- it is all a matter of price - how much do you want?" His offer of $2½m over five years was rejected, says Steele, because the board had already agreed a deal with the ABC for $248,000 over three years.

October 12 Day 13 of the High Court hearing - Peter Short, president of the Barbados Cricket Association and a West Indies delegate to the ICC, says that West Indies had "grave reservations" about making the ban retroactive, but had supported the ban in the interests of presenting a united front against a real threat. He had been told that Gillette were withdrawing sponsorship of the Caribbean competition: "Whether or not it is due to players not being available I don't know." Cross-examined by Mr Robert Alexander, QC (for Packer and the three players), Short agrees that Mike Procter, being South African, would be "particularly hard hit". Asked if he would be "an innocent victim of the war?" he replies, "I would not say innocent; he is very much involved." Tours, he says, may have to be cancelled, for West Indies were dependent on getting good guarantees from host countries and without 15 of the best players West Indies would be in a weak negotiating position.

October 13 Day 14 of the High Court hearing - Jack Bailey, secretary of MCC and the ICC, says that the Australian board "bent over backwards" to prevent Packer causing a storm in the cricket world by launching his series. When it became clear that Packer wanted exclusive rights to televise cricket in Australia they offered to let him bid for them, "but he said he was not prepared to stand in line with everyone else".

In Perth, fast bowler Wayne Clark, 24, turns down a lucrative offer to join the Packer troupe. A schoolteacher, Clark took 25 wickets for Western Australia last season.

October 14 Day 15 of the High Court hearing - Bailey, continuing evidence, says that banning Packer signatories "was the only way the game could protect itself worldwide". A ban would allow other players to know the choice that lay before them. The absence of Packer signatories from Test cricket was a danger to the counties for whom they played. A decline in Test match profits would be "serious, very serious, or catastrophic".

Earlier, Walter Hadlee had pointed out that Test matches were financially vital to New Zealand. Without them there would be no televised cricket in New Zealand. M. A. Chidambaram had stated that a depleted Australian side would cause a financial loss to Indian cricket since India would have to pay an identical, reciprocal sum to that paid by Australia before losing their Packer signatories. A weakened West Indies side would not be offered as high a guarantee to tour India as previously.

Kerry Packer, having flown back to Sydney, is faced with a standstill on ticket sales for his World Series following a Federal Court ruling that his company cannot use the words `Test' or `Supertest' in describing the proposed matches. Advertising material now has to be amended. The action to restrain World Series Cricket Pty Ltd from conduct that might be misleading or deceptive was brought by the Australian Cricket Board.

An Australian opinion poll shows that 58% of those questioned wanted to see the Packer matches and only 14% were interested in watching the Australia-India Test series.

October 15 South Australian fast bowler Wayne Prior signs a Packer contract.

October 17 Day 16 of the High Court hearing - Geoff Boycott, giving evidence for the ICC and the TCCB, tells the judge that Tony Greig telephoned him three days earlier to ask "how the hell" he had become involved in the case. Greig said, Boycott goes on, that he wished he was not going to give evidence because they were going to have to work over the weekend to "throw some mud at you". Boycott thought this was "charming", and adds, "That's what friends are for." Mr Justice Slade, having said nothing at the time since the remarks seemed of a jocular variety, later tells Mr Alexander, QC, that "if there were any attempt to influence witnesses on either side I would be bound to take a very serious view. I am sure you will speak to Mr Greig about this." Counsel replies that he is sure that Greig heard every word and would abide by what the judge had said.

Boycott says that players who signed for Packer "wanted the penny and the bun". While leading players for a long time have not been paid what they are worth, "a man cannot serve two masters". Boycott recalls that he had first met Kerry Packer when asked to cast an eye over the cricket potential of his son: "I expressed my opinion - which his father didn't like."

Initially interested in Packer's offer of a contract to him in March, Boycott disliked its "body-and-soul" nature, and would not countenance any interference with his commitment to Yorkshire. He had asked for a revised contract to be sent to him for perusal by his solicitor, but none had ever materialised. Expressing belief in the proposed ban, he cites the case of Paul Downton, who tours for England this winter but would probably be relegated to Kent's reserve team when Alan Knott reclaimed his place in the county side after having played for Packer.

In Sydney, the New South Wales Cricket Association seeks a temporary injunction to prevent the Sydney Cricket Ground being used for World Series matches.

October 18 Day 17 of the High Court hearing - During further cross-examination by Alexander, Boycott denies that he is supporting the cricket authorities in this case to further his prospects of becoming England's captain. He says that the Packer series would affect receipts at the Australia-India Tests, at which Mr Alexander asks if the appearance of "local heroes" affected gates - such as Derek Randall at Trent Bridge. "Randall at Trent Bridge?" Boycott retorts. "I thought they were Yorkshiremen come to see me!" Laughter envelopes the courtroom.

After Boycott's apparently reluctant withdrawal from the witness-box, Doug Insole, chairman of the TCCB, starts to give evidence. He states that the county clubs would be deprived of £500,000 a year if Test cricket declined as a result of private promotions. Reverting to the matter of players' wives on tours, Insole says that Tony Greig, while not opposed to them, preferred them to join their husbands late on the tour of India and Sri Lanka, after team spirit had been developed. When Alan Knott approached him to alter the dates, Insole had replied to the effect that "You are a flaming nuisance, but as it's you I will reconsider."

October 19 Day 18 of the High Court hearing - Continuing his evidence, Insole says that inflation means that cricket will need more money next year, and if the money does not get to the counties "then the people who will suffer will be those at the bottom of the ladder." He tells of the continuing hopes of the English cricket authorities that a compromise with Kerry Packer can still be reached. The proposed ban, Insole says, was not aimed at pressurising the players, but to make them feel unhappy about not playing Test cricket. Packer, he reveals, had offered £150,000- twice the asking price- for exclusive TV rights for the 1977 England-Australia series. "We were being subjected to high-pressure salesmanship, to which we were not accustomed, by being given a lavish dinner and so on and so forth."

October 20 Day 19 of the High Court hearing - Insole, giving evidence for the third day, recalls that talks with Packer broke down because he wanted exclusive TV rights. ICC were willing to change some Test match dates, offer use of some major grounds, and confer first-class status on the matches; but the exclusive rights would not be offered. Insole states that Packer has been warned that if he brings his `circus' to England, every effort would be made to stop him from hiring suitable grounds.

A letter from Richard Stone, Oxford University CC secretary, to Carr, TCCB secretary, written last July, is admitted as evidence, and reveals that an unnamed Australian player had expressed regret at having signed for World Series. The letter, read in court by Mr Andrew Morritt, QC, for the plaintiffs, says in part: "When the Australians came to Oxford recently I had an interesting talk with one of them who had joined up with Packer. His story was that one day in January (or February) he was called to Packer's office and had such a lucrative offer made to him in return for joining Packer's circus that in view of his own financial situation he could hardly refuse. He was promised a cheque before he left the room for $30,000 if he signed the contract, but on condition that he did not tell a soul about the matter without Packer's permission. . . . In due course he came to realise that he's made a very bad mistake but as he had already spent part of the money he couldn't withdraw from the contract by paying back what he'd been given. He now bitterly regrets what he's done and would dearly love to escape his commitment with Packer. . . . I understand from him that there are several other Australians with a similar story who would like to with-draw from the contracts but see no way to do so."

Stone, in his letter, then suggests that the TCCB might consider setting up a low-interest loan fund and a small sub-committee to advise players who wished to extricate themselves from their contracts with Packer.

October 21 Day 20 of the High Court hearing- Insole denies that the TCCB were trying to persuade players to withdraw from their Packer contracts, legally or illegally. The purpose of the proposed ban, he reasserts, is to protect the game. It would be serious, and not "indiscriminate", intended to show players that there was a choice now and in the future.

October 23 Tony Greig arrives in Sydney and says he will become a permanent Australian resident within two years. He calls for a combined effort to solve the problems affecting world cricket, then remarks that perhaps there are too many players now signed up for the World Series.

Rob Langer, 29, Western Australian batsman, signs a Packer three-year contract requiring him for only seven weeks so as not to jeopardise his job as a physical education teacher.

October 24 Day 21 of the High Court hearing - In answer to a question from Mr Morritt, QC, Insole explains that although Procter (for whom he has "the greatest admiration") is South African, and therefore excluded from playing Test cricket, "I think that the system will have to be that those who want to play for Packer will be free to do so and they should be free to decide whether they play for Packer or for authorised cricket." Procter, he says, is a linchpin for the Packer series.

Ray Illingworth, Leicestershire and former England captain, wearing his Test blazer and tie in court, says he believes Procter is "a bit of a special case, but you cannot make exceptions". Agreeing that English county cricketers had been underpaid for years, he says he does not blame any player for signing with Packer, but if he had done so he would have expected to be banned from Test and county matches.

Jack Bannister, secretary of the Cricketers' Association, refers to a letter from Hampshire's vice-captain, Bob Stephenson, written before the Association's extraordinary meeting at Edgbaston in September, when Hampshire were playing at Scarborough, and unable to attend. Stephenson had written that 16 Hampshire players had voted in favour of a ban on Packer's players and one against. When it was revealed that Barry Richards abstained the voting was amended to 15-1. At least one Packer signatory must have voted in favour of the ban.

Bannister says that Packer was informed of the Association's resolution (carried 120-55) that the ICC and the TCCB be urged to reopen negotiations with him on condition that he altered his dates to avoid clashes with the Tests. He had not received a reply.

October 25 Day 22 of the High Court hearing- Continuing his evidence, Bannister recalls that the Cricketers' Association voted 91-77 in favour of a county ban on Packer players. England captain Mike Brearley, Tony Greig, Clive Rice, Phil Edmonds, and Mike Selvey had opposed the ban, Brearley "less against the Test ban than the county ban". Bannister states that pay for rank and file county players ranged from £2500 to £4000. He says that Tony Greig and other players signed with Packer understood that they had lost their Test places; if they played county cricket it would serve the purpose of keeping them fit for Packer series games.

Edward King, chairman of the TCCB's finance and general purposes committee, testifies that without revenue from Test matches only Essex of the 17 first-class counties would have made a profit in 1974, 1975, and 1976 in excess of revenue from Tests. The Test match revenue for distribution in 1977 will be about £900,000, almost double that of 1976, but any reduction could lead to a return to "the bad old days with players badly paid and clubs on the breadline". A TCCB working party had been set up to provide clubs with guidelines on proper rates of pay to players when Government policy permitted.

October 26 Day 23 of the High Court hearing - Continuing his evidence, King agrees that if some star players are banned interest in county cricket could lessen. But, he says, it would be only temporary while new players came through. King produces figures showing profits and losses of the first-class counties from 1974 to 1976. In 1974, 13 counties suffered overall losses; in 1975, eight; in 1976, four.

Worcestershire's secretary, Mike Vockins, cross-examined by Morritt, says that it could cost a county £50,000 over five years to produce a first-class cricketer from scratch. He thinks the continuance of Packer players in county cricket could be disruptive: "County players would not be happy supporting, even indirectly, people who have been described to me as mercenaries. I believe chaps not involved with Packer would feel that their talents were almost subsidising Mr Packer's chaps by providing a vehicle for them in the summer months." The decision whether to play Packer players in their sides ought not to be left to the counties. Some might choose them and others might not. It would lead to friction. He thought that county club members would support the ban.

October 27 Day 24 of the High Court hearing- TCCB secretary Donald Carr, recalling a meeting with Tony Greig on May 12, states that Greig told him that Kerry Packer would call off his proposed series if he could get exclusive TV rights in Australia. When Carr pointed out that Greig and the other English signatories had "assisted Kerry Packer in achieving a position where he could blackmail the authorities' Greig was `evasive' and `didn't really make much comment on that'." Carr had formed the impression that Greig, Knott and Underwood were hoping something could be sorted out at that time. The counties, says Carr, voted 19-0, with two abstentions, in favour of the proposed county ban. He lists the reasons for a need for the ban as: 1. A requirement to support the ICC; 2. A deterrent to other players from leaving the authorised game; 3. Adverse reaction from other county cricketers; 4. Safeguarding places in county cricket on behalf of players who remained available for Test matches; 5. The disruptive influence of Packer players, who "would be aiming to recruit future star players".

October 28 Day 25 of the High Court hearing - Continuing his evidence, Carr stresses that the Packer threat was too big to be left to individual counties to combat. It would have created chaos. He admits that there was no England dressing-room dissension during the 1977 Test series: "I think Tony Greig had done a fine job building team spirit last winter, and when Mike Brearley took over the captaincy this continued."

In Sydney, Kerry Packer gives evidence before the Chief Judge in Equity, Mr Justice Helsham, in the challenge action brought by the NSWCA over the decision to grant World Series Cricket use of the Sydney Cricket Ground.

It is reported that Packer's TV company still seeks $2½m of the necessary $3½m sponsorship. So far Berger Paints and Samuel Taylor alone of the major advertisers have signed up. At a dinner, Packer admits he anticipated a little difficulty selling his venture, but the series would take place regardless of any court decision. Tony Greig outlines some of the changes the series might bring to cricket. In the night matches a slightly different game would be developed, suitable for the US mass market.

October 31 Day 26 of the High Court hearing - Evidence in the case concludes with final cross-examination of Carr and a return to the witness-box by Insole, who says he cannot recall Gubby Allen's alleged remark "The only thing we can do is sack them", as reported in a transcript of shorthand notes of a TCCB emergency executive committee meeting on May 13.

Mr Michael Kempster, QC, begins his closing address for the defendants, suggesting that the aspersions cast on the administrators earlier in the case were "misconceived if not unwholesome". He thought Packer's expressions of concern for the lot of cricketers was "suspect". It falls, he says, to Mr Justice Slade to be the first to construe the application of a particular section of the Trade Union and Labour Relations Act 1974.