COMPETING FOR TOP DOLLAR
The business of sport
WSC paved the way for players to have more say about their pay
In 1977, Arthur Ashe, the American tennis great, sat in the stands of the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) watching the Centenary test. Contested between Australia and England, the test attracted 80,000 fans to the MCG and Ashe remarked casually to a cricketer sitting alongside him that with such a healthy crowd he must be earning well. "Aw, no mate," came the reply. "We’ll probably rake in a couple of hundred Aussie dollars." Representing Channel 9, an Australian television station, Packer had recently bid for the right to televise Australia’s home tests. The Australian Cricket Board (ACB) refused, preferring to honour their long-standing commercial arrangement with the Australian Broadcasting Corp (ABC) instead, despite the fact that Packer’s offer was far better. Packer was miffed. A straight-talking toughie, he held no candle for establishment toffs. The players were vulnerable — he knew this — he would simply offer them more money and start a rival league to up the local content ...
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