Author(s): Austin Robertson

Cricket

In the summer of 1977-78 Kerry Packer changed professional sport forever. Under a cloak of secrecy, the Aussie tycoon - together with maverick TV comics Paul Hogan and John 'Strop' Cornell, elite players Dennis Lillee, Tony Greig and Ian Chappell, and retired footy hero Austin Robertson - signed up 35 of the world's leading cricketers for a revolution called 'World Series Cricket'. Suddenly, the gentleman's game had four outlaw teams playing 'Supertests' and 50-over games at night under lights in crash helmets, using white balls and wearing coloured clothing. Slowly, then in a torrent, fans fell under the spell of day-night cricket airwaves jingling to 'C'mon Aussie C'mon' and supercharged TV coverage led by Richie Benaud. In the middle of this maelstrom was Austin Robertson: trusted lieutenant to Packer, and confidant to cricket's biggest stars. In Cricket Outlaws, Austin shares the real story of the World Series Cricket revolution for the first time - from the inside, in his own words and with vivid first-hand accounts from 48 of the game's biggest characters and key players behind the scenes, many speaking publicly on WSC for the first time.