The Kerry Packer Saga. Tony Greig who himself was diagnosed with cancer, died of a heart attack in December 2012. His memorial service was held at Trafalgar Square which was attended by former players including Boycott. Richie Benaud, Dennis Amiss, Michael Holding and David Gower delivered eulogies. Whenever someone talks about Greig, World Series Cricket and his ties with Kerry Packer will invariably come into the picture. The Packer era gripped the game between 1976 & 1978. Boycott left Greig’s eulogy service angry because he felt that history was rewritten by people who were not involved in the events of that time. The eulogies remarked Greig as a messiah who saved cricketers from poverty and the clutches of controlling administrators. Everyone who spoke, paid glowing tributes to Greig for improving the lives of the players.
Michael Atherthon wrote in his weekly column that every cricketer who had made even a half-decent living from the game, owes Greig a great debt of gratitude. There were a lot of people who were of the opinion that Greig and Packer were the saviours of the game but Boycott doesn’t see it that way.
The Greig-Boycott-Packer period
It was an unpleasant two-year period when you were either for or against the Packer cricket. The entire thing was controlled by Kerry Packer and Tony Greig with an overbearing attitude. As things got heated, Boycott was rubbished by Tony in the press and he said that Boycott left Packer cricket because he wasn’t offered captaincy. Boycott is adamant that this was not true. It all started when Tony Greig got an offer to play cricket in Australia in 1975. He wasn’t offered any money but the club promised to find a job for him. Tony found several jobs. Television work, personal appearances and writing articles. It was very difficult for sportspeople in England to get any product endorsement during that period. This exposure changed Greig’s outlook on life. He saw the possibilities.
Boycott appeared for the same club that Greig played for and he also found jobs in sports writing. Kerry Packer met Boycott at his home and told him that he had plans to arrange for cricket games between an Australian XI and a World XI. He asked Boycott whether he would like to play for World XI. Boycott answered in the affirmative. At that time, Boycott never knew what went behind and what happened earlier when Packer was refused the television cricket rights by ACB. Packer was contemplating going up against the establishment. Boycott was of the opinion that these will be exhibition games. There were no private promoter of the game during the period and to be fair to Boycott, he would not have guessed the intention of Packer.
Packer asked Boycott about the best players in the world and also about captains.
The Contract
During the Centenary Test, Austin Robertson who worked for Packer, went to see Boycott with a mega contract that gave Packer control over Boycott’s and other player’s life for 3 years. Boycott refused to sign because he already had an existing contract with Yorkshire. Later, Greig and Packer accused Boycott of not signing the contract because he wasn’t made the captain. This was wrong according to Boycott because he was only the 3rd player Packer talked to and there was no way anyone would know who would be leading. He didn’t turn the contract down because the money wasn’t enough. Money was never discussed. Tony Greig met Packer and was thrilled at the prospect and immediately agreed.
Tony was 30 at that time and was leading England but like any other cricketer, was worried about how to go on after retiring. Hence, he accepted the opportunity. He was promised 25K GBP, quite an amount at that time. The money available to cricketers during that period was a pittance. Bat sponsorship was not allowed in the front. Newspaper columns were severely censored. Advertising was out of the picture. Also, if someone didn’t play a Test, he wasn’t paid for that game. TCCB only relented when it was clear that more players would defect to World Series Cricket if the money was not raised.
The revelation
In May 1977, the Packer story broke. Greig went on making statements every day justifying his actions. However, the former English cricketers were aghast at Tony’s acceptance of Packer cricket. Tony was removed from England’s captaincy. Tony told the press that when Boycott went to his home – Boycott went there to thank Tony’s wife who took care of him in Australia while he was playing for a club – alongwith some other cricketers, that he went there to wait for Tony and asked him to call Packer and was ready to join. This was a lie. ICC on 26 July 1977 announced that anyone part of Packer’s cricket would be ineligible for Test cricket. News of Boycott rejecting Packer cricket was out and he was considered as public enemy number one by Packer and Greig.
TCCB & ACB decided to ban anyone part of Packer cricket. Packer approached the court and Boycott was called as a witness on behalf of TCCB. After examining him and several others, Justice Slade found against the ICC and TCCB ruling that their action amounted to illegal restraint of trade. However, The Professional Cricket Association came out against Packer and voted that his recruits must be removed from the County Championship. Boycott sided with them.
The Pakistan Tour
England visited Pakistan later where the Pakistan selectors, included 4 players from Packer cricket including Imran Khan. England’s players were all against anyone associated with Packer. Boycott became the captain but was immediately faced with a situation. England did not want to play against players who had represented Packer. ECB and the PCB were in serious discussion. Pakistan were adamant that they would induct those 4 cricketers. Doug Insole, the chairman of TCCB, sought Boycott’s support in persuading the players to play. Boycott told him that to captain England was his dream and he could easily take the field but did not want to because of the solidarity within the team. Insole sought Boycott to show leadership which incensed him. He made every player talk to Insole and each and everyone of them was unwilling to take the field.
Boycott convinced Insole to send a telex to PCB that England will not take the field if Australian returnees are on the side and that the consequences are entirely Pakistan’s. Ultimately, Pakistan relented and those 4 players were not chosen. Tony Greig in Australia was furious. He blamed Boycott and his cronies for the turn of events. Meanwhile, Packer cricket didn’t attract the expected crowd. Greig was left to think whether he made the right choice. Tony was subsequently dropped as captain and from the Sussex team. All of this disillusioned him and he left England and relocated to Australia.
End analysis
Did World Series Cricket and Kerry Packer increase the wages of the players? Apparently not. It took a whole 20 years, after the advent of Television, for wages to increase substantially. As for Greig, he had everything. Captain of England, successful series in India where his captaincy was appreciated and good off-field income. He chose to throw away all of that for Packer. Boycott and Tony Greig did not talk to each other for 10 years. It was broken when TWI got the satellite TV rights and sold them to Sky. Boycott joined the commentary team of Greig, Holding and Lewis. They immediately connected and the Packer thing was of the past. Both of them commentated in various games across a whole host of countries. The camaraderie was liked by the listeners.
Boycott about cancer treatment