World Series Cricket - March-October 1978

March 6 Yorkshire's AGM labels WSC "a parasite on the game".

March 7 Mike Procter is reappointed Gloucestershire's captain despite his WSC links.

The West Indies board announces increased fees for players in Tests and new contracts.

March 8 The TCCB meets at Lord's to discuss proposals regarding players' contracts aimed at preventing a Packer situation occurring again, including out-of-season contracts.

March 19 Pakistan do not name any Packer players in their provisional 32-man squad for the summer's tour of England.

March 22 Colin Croft, Desmond Haynes and Richard Austin sign for WSC. The West Indies board claim that the three had reneged on an agreement they would not do so before the third Australia Test starting on March 31.

March 28 The West Indies drop Haynes, Austin and Deryck Murray from the Test side, leading to the resignation of Clive Lloyd as captain and the withdrawal of eight WSC players from the side. To add insult to injury, Packer arrives and takes the players for a weekend at Bridgetown's Sandy Lane Hotel. "We are now in the same house," Jeff Stollmeyer tells the Australian management.

March 29 Kent replace their captain Asif Iqbal with Mark Ealham and announce that they will not renew the contracts of their Packer players at the end of the summer. Warwickshire do the same, giving Dennis Amiss a one-year deal only.

March 31 The Times reports that Packer is considering hiring the White City stadium for the 1978 summer.

April 4 Tony Greig is suspended from playing until June 16 for his comments about Geoff Boycott. "More than most," John Woodcock writes in The Times, "Greig can be said to deserve what he gets".

April 6 A move by Kent members to overturn a decision to sack all Packer players at the end of the 1978 season fails. In Australia, Greg Chappell calls for the appointment of a mediator as "neither the ICC or Mr Packer will be likely to make the first move to settlement".

April 7 Javed Miandad and Haroon Rashid announce they have signed for WSC.

April 9 Reuters reports that Packer is confident of staging matches at the SCG in 1978-79.

April 10 Alan Knott announces that he will not play for Kent again if they will not offer him a contract after 1978.

April 12 There are calls to boycott the last two Tests in the Caribbean unless the board reinstates WSC players.

April 14 Hopes of a compromise grow after Andrew Caro, the managing director of WSC, tells the Cricketers' Association that schedules could be arranged so that WSC and official matches did not clash.

April 15 Bob Parish, the ACB chairman, pours cold water on Caro's suggestions which he says is "open to serious doubt". Rashid and Miandad arrive in London with the Pakistan squad but refuse to be confirm or deny they have signed for WSC.

April 17 The Times reports that despite assurances to the contrary, WSC plans to stage matches in the Caribbean and England.

The Cricketers' Association warns that unless the position of Rashid and Miandad is clarified then the Pakistan tour could be scrapped.

Clive Rice signs for WSC.

April 17 In a meeting at the Dorchester Hotel, WSC officials insist that Rashid and Miandad have not signed for them.

April 21 Rice is stripped of the Nottinghamshire captaincy and has his three-year contract with the county terminated.

April 25 Tony Greig leaves on a ten-day trip to explore the possibility of Packer promoting the game in the USA. "In terms of cash in sport, they lead the way," he said.

April 27 Nottinghamshire's players issue a statement saying they do not want to play with or against any WSC player, adding that they feel it is unfair they have had to sacrifice their best player when other counties have not.

April 28 Cash-strapped Chelsea FC admit to having met with Packer with a view to staging floodlit matches at Stamford Bridge.

May 1 A major breakthrough for WSC with the announcement that they will stage matches at the Sydney Cricket Ground in 1978-79. The ICC announces that an overture to Packer for talks has not had a reply.

May 5 Nottinghamshire announce that they have resolved their differences with Rice and that he will now be available to play for them. "It's nice to be wanted again," Rice said.

May 14 Imran Khan is reprimanded for bowling in the nets at Hove in a shirt with a WSC logo.

May 23 It is reported that WSC has launched a bid to use Barbados' Queens Park Oval in 1978-79. The decision will have to be made by the club's membership.

May 26 Mushtaq Mohammad launches a claim at the Bedfordshire Industrial Tribunal claiming unfair dismissal as he was sacked by Northants after signing for WSC.

May 29 An Auckland promoter announces that he has been negotiating with WSC officials to stage four matches in New Plymouth, New Zealand.

May 30 Dennis Amiss announces the launch of an Amiss Mk II helmet of which 500 have been sent to Australia and four to each county. Amiss wore a crash helmet in the previous winter's WSC matches.

June 28 The WSC itinerary for 1978-79 is announced and there is only one day when matches clash with the Ashes series. Supertests will start at lunchtime and continue into the late evening under lights over four rather than five days. Seventy percent of one-day matches would be day-night and a Cavaliers side, captained by Eddie Barlow, will tour outlying areas. Organisers refuse to be drawn if more players in addition to the existing 54 would be signed.

July 9 Islamabad newspapers claim that WSC will stage three one-day matches in the city in Match 1979.

July 12 Sussex agreed to a request from Tony Greig for him to be released from his contract with immediate effect.

Majid Khan, Packer's representative in Pakistan, approaches Karachi authorities about staging a WSC match in the city.

July 14 The ICC chairman and secretary admit they have held talks with representatives of WSC in New York.

July 19 Australia's captain Bobby Simpson claims that players who signed for Packer might be financially worse off as a result. While the direct salaries might be higher, he says, the loss of income from sponsorship and advertising, allied to the fact that they were not being time off their full-time jobs to play could lead to the shortfall.

July 20 Kent announce that they have reconsidered the decision not to offer their four Packer players new contracts after 1978.

July 27 The ICC AGM in London ends with a unanimous rejection of proposals from WSC that scheduling could allow the two to take place alongside each other. The ICC states that WSC's plans would mean they played in ten of the 12 months of the year, with games in England, New Zealand, West Indies, India and Pakistan as well as Australia. Nevertheless, a WSC spokesman refers to a "chink of light" in negotiations.

August 4 The ICC announces that WSC-contracted players will be allowed to play in the 1979 World Cup in England.

August 12 Alvin Kallicharran is reappointed as West Indies captain for the tour of India and Pakistan; no WSC players will be selected for the trip.

Warwickshire's players tell the county's committee that they do not want Amiss offered a new contract in 1979 despite pressure to do so from members.

August 13 It is reported that the five Pakistan players contracted to WSC will be released to play in the forthcoming series against India.

August 15 Greig says that a match will be held on a matting wicket at Shea Stadium on September 2. While not a WSC match, if it is successful then WSC is likely to look at staging more games in the country. He predicts a 15,000 crowd.

September 7 The West Indies board says it has been guaranteed $55,000 by WSC for the proposed Caribbean series starting on February 10, 1978.

September 29 Jeff Thomson signs a three-year deal with WSC two days after announcing his retirement from the game.

October 6 The ACB says it will go to court to prevent Thomson playing for WSC as he had a contract with the board and was only released from it as he said he was retiring.

October 22 WSC announce that it has now secured access to Kensington Oval and that it now has four Test grounds available for the Australia tour in 1979.