162-681: Kepler Christoffel Wessels (born 14 September 1957) is a South African-Australian cricket commentator and former cricketer who captained South Africa after playing 24 Tests for Australia . Since retiring he has been a lawn bowls competitor. He was a left-handed opening batsman . He played first-class cricket for Orange Free State , Western Province , Northern Transvaal , Eastern Province and Griqualand West in South Africa, for Queensland in Australia and Sussex in England. In 2008, he coached
324-456: A public school education who had then gone to one of Cambridge or Oxford University . Society insisted that such people were "officers and gentlemen" whose destiny was to provide leadership. In a purely financial sense, the cricketing amateur would theoretically claim expenses for playing while his professional counterpart played under contract and was paid a wage or match fee; in practice, many amateurs claimed more than actual expenditure, and
486-667: A 3–0 defeat, surrendering the Ashes won two years before. In light of the controversies the Sydney Gazette article clearly showed West Indian captain Clive Lloyd interviewed after leaving the Caribbean team to join Packer, Lloyd stated it was nothing personal it was clearly earning a more comfortable source of income. That interview created waves across the Caribbean and even in world cricket. It
648-461: A career longer than 50 innings. During the 1989 Currie Cup final in Port Elizabeth, Wessels angered South African cricket authorities by letting his Eastern Province side bat deep into the third day, without declaring the first innings closed. He was accused of killing the game and ruining what was supposed to be the annual showpiece of South African cricket, by not giving his opponents, Transvaal,
810-561: A collared shirt with short or long sleeves; long trousers; woolen pullover (if needed); cricket cap (for fielding) or a safety helmet; and spiked shoes or boots to increase traction. The kit is traditionally all white, and this remains the case in Test and first-class cricket, but in limited overs cricket, team colours are now worn instead. i) A used white ball. White balls are mainly used in limited overs cricket , especially in matches played at night, under floodlights (left). The essence of
972-537: A compromise from the start. Now he had no objection to WSC making a brief tour of his country in November, nor was he going to stop the Kiwis' best player, his son Richard , from appearing with WSC. The South Africans, subject to an international boycott caused by the apartheid policy of their government , were keen to see their individual cricketers compete with the world's best. Some were prepared to acclaim South Africa as
1134-515: A couple of games for the second-string Cavaliers side. During his first game, two short balls had struck him in the ribs and on the chest, and in both cases, he refused to leave the field and battled on to score a 54 from the innings. Finally, Wessels was included in the Australian XI , for a one-day game against the WSC World XI , which included four fellow South Africans. He scored 20, made 21 in
1296-527: A crossroads. Since its inception in 1956, commercial television in Australia had developed a reliance on imported programs, particularly from the United States, as buying them was cheaper than commissioning Australian productions. Agitation for more Australian-made programming gained impetus from the "TV: Make it Australian" campaign in 1970. This led to a government-imposed quota system in 1973. The advent of colour transmissions in 1975 markedly improved sport as
1458-677: A dominating all-round performance from his team, the match ended in a draw, which allowed NSW to win the Sheffield Shield. Wessels' last act for Queensland was a creditable individual bowling performance of 16–5–26–2, including the wicket of a young Mark Waugh . After the season finished, Wessels re-settled in South Africa again and began playing, this time for Eastern Province . Before moving to Australia, Wessels had played for Orange Free State , Western Province and Northern Transvaal . He continued to play for Eastern Province from 1986 until his retirement in 2000. His debut with Eastern Province
1620-430: A fair chance at batting. However, the decision proved to be correct from an Eastern Province point of view, as the home side managed to bowl Transvaal out twice by the fifth day, thereby winning by an innings and 103 runs. As captain of the national side, Wessels was similarly criticised for playing too conservatively in South Africa's first test series since readmission into international cricket. Although South Africa won
1782-454: A fence, part of the stands, a rope, a painted line, or a combination of these; the boundary must if possible be marked along its entire length. In the approximate centre of the field is a rectangular pitch (see image, below) on which a wooden target called a wicket is sited at each end; the wickets are placed 22 yards (20 m) apart. The pitch is a flat surface 10 feet (3.0 m) wide, with very short grass that tends to be worn away as
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#17330845452111944-598: A highly popular format, putting the longer formats at risk. The new shorter format also introduced franchise cricket, with new tournaments like the Indian Premier League and the Australian Big Bash League . The ICC has selected the T20 format as cricket's growth format, and has introduced a T20 World Cup which is played every two years; T20 cricket has also been increasingly accepted into major events such as
2106-587: A month later they decided Packer's matches would not be given first-class status and the players involved would be banned from Test matches and first-class cricket. A number of the signed players now considered withdrawing. Jeff Thomson and Alvin Kallicharan had their contracts torn up when it was discovered that they had binding agreements with a radio station in Brisbane requiring them to play for Queensland . Packer moved quickly to shore up support, meeting with
2268-492: A rebel English team captained by Mike Gatting . He scored 1 & 2 in the only match played, which South Africa won. With apartheid being removed from South Africa in 1991, the International Cricket Council unanimously removed the ban against playing South Africa. As a result, South Africa could now play Test and One-day international cricket. When South Africa played its first Test since March 1970, ten of
2430-472: A series of minor victories – Packer was unable to use the terms "Test match" or call their team of Australians "Australia", or use the official rules of cricket, which are the copyright of the Marylebone Cricket Club . So the five-day matches became "Supertests", played by the "WSC Australian XI" and Richie Benaud set to work writing rules and playing conditions for the series. Most importantly, WSC
2592-533: A team captained by the Test veteran Colin Bland . At 18 he was playing professionally in England, opening the batting for Sussex. In the late 1970s, Wessels was drafted by Kerry Packer to play for the Australian World Series Cricket Team . As a South African with little hope of playing Test cricket for his country, Wessels joined the "circus" to take advantage of the better pay and conditions that
2754-438: A television spectacle and, importantly, Australian sport counted as local content. However, sports administrators perceived live telecasts to have an adverse effect on attendance. The correlation between sports, corporate sponsorship, and television exposure was not evident to Australian sports administrators at the time. After the death of his father Sir Frank in 1974, Kerry Packer had assumed control of Channel Nine , one of
2916-504: A touring Indian team . The ACB's masterstroke was the appointment of the 41-year-old Bob Simpson as Australian captain, after a ten-year retirement from first-class cricket. He led a team of relatively unknown youngsters (with the exception of fast bowler Jeff Thomson , who did not sign up for the WSC) to a 3–2 series victory which was not decided until the final Test in Adelaide. Big crowds attended
3078-507: A wicket that was taking spin. Wessels scored 505 runs at an average of 56.11 against the West Indies, which was more than double the number of runs scored by any other Australian batsmen during that series. Given the dominance of West Indian bowling at the time, and the fragility of the Australian batting line-up, Wessels' performance during that series was world class. Unfortunately, Wessels
3240-416: A winner or tie.) The wicket-keeper (a specialised fielder behind the batter) and the batters wear protective gear because of the hardness of the ball, which can be delivered at speeds of more than 145 kilometres per hour (90 mph) and presents a major health and safety concern. Protective clothing includes pads (designed to protect the knees and shins), batting gloves or wicket-keeper's gloves for
3402-403: Is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field , at the centre of which is a 22-yard (20-metre; 66-foot) pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails (small sticks) balanced on three stumps . Two players from the batting team, the striker and nonstriker, stand in front of either wicket holding bats , while one player from the fielding team,
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#17330845452113564-529: Is aimed at a mark (the wicket) and driven away from it". It is generally believed that cricket originated as a children's game in the south-eastern counties of England, sometime during the medieval period . Although there are claims for prior dates, the earliest definite reference to cricket being played comes from evidence given at a court case in Guildford in January 1597 ( Old Style , equating to January 1598 in
3726-449: Is certain that cricket was being played c. 1550 by boys in Surrey . The view that it was originally a children's game is reinforced by Randle Cotgrave 's 1611 English- French dictionary in which he defined the noun " crosse " as "the crooked staff wherewith boys play at cricket", and the verb form " crosser " as "to play at cricket". One possible source for the sport's name
3888-423: Is drawn four feet in front of the bowling crease and parallel to it; although it is drawn as a 12 ft (3.7 m) line (six feet on either side of the wicket), it is, in fact, unlimited in length. The return creases are drawn at right angles to the popping crease so that they intersect the ends of the bowling crease; each return crease is drawn as an 8 ft (2.4 m) line, so that it extends four feet behind
4050-635: Is known, through numerous references found in the records of ecclesiastical court cases, to have been proscribed at times by the Puritans before and during the Commonwealth . The problem was nearly always the issue of Sunday play, as the Puritans considered cricket to be "profane" if played on the Sabbath , especially if large crowds or gambling were involved. According to the social historian Derek Birley , there
4212-480: Is often seen as being more prestigious for players, due both to the more challenging nature of the format and to the higher turnover rate of one-day players. Kerry Packer described his involvement in World Series Cricket as "half-philanthropic". Marketing was a major tool for World Series Cricket, and revolutionised the way cricket in Australia was marketed, with the catchy " C'mon Aussie C'mon " theme song,
4374-556: Is the Old English word " cryce " (or " cricc " ) meaning a crutch or staff. In Samuel Johnson 's Dictionary , he derived cricket from " cryce , Saxon, a stick". In Old French , the word " criquet " seems to have meant a kind of club or stick. Given the strong medieval trade connections between south-east England and the County of Flanders when the latter belonged to the Duchy of Burgundy ,
4536-460: Is the earliest mention of adult participation in cricket and it was around the same time that the earliest known organised inter-parish or village match was played, at Chevening, Kent . In 1624, a player called Jasper Vinall died after he was accidentally struck on the head during a match between two parish teams in Sussex. Cricket remained a low-key local pursuit for much of the 17th century. It
4698-402: Is thought, a " wicket gate " through which sheep were herded), that the batter must defend. The cricket historian Harry Altham identified three "groups" of "club ball" games: the "hockey group", in which the ball is driven to and from between two targets (the goals); the "golf group", in which the ball is driven towards an undefended target (the hole); and the "cricket group", in which "the ball
4860-644: The 1976–77 season . Determined to get some cricket on Channel Nine, Packer put an offer to the Test and County Cricket Board (TCCB) to telecast the Australian tour of England scheduled for 1977 . His interest was further stimulated by a proposal to play some televised exhibition matches, an idea presented to him by Western Australian businessmen John Cornell and Austin Robertson . Robertson managed several high-profile Australian cricketers such as Dennis Lillee , while Cornell
5022-635: The Adelaide Oval , which was rejected. Perth and Adelaide were dropped from the itinerary. A strategy of focusing on audiences in Melbourne and Sydney was now in place. The war swung dramatically in Packer's favour on 28 November 1978 when the first day-night match on a traditional cricket ground was played at the SCG between the WSC Australian and West Indian teams. A near-capacity crowd of 44,374 turned out to watch
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5184-567: The Asian Games . The resultant growth has seen cricket's fanbase cross one billion people, with 90% of them in South Asia. T20's success has also spawned even shorter formats , such as 10-over cricket (T10) and 100-ball cricket , though not without controversy. Outside factors have also taken their toll on cricket. For example, the 2008 Mumbai attacks led India and Pakistan to suspend their bilateral series indefinitely. The 2009 attack on
5346-685: The British Empire had been instrumental in spreading the game overseas, and by the middle of the 19th century it had become well established in Australia , the Caribbean , British India (which includes present-day Pakistan and Bangladesh ), New Zealand , North America and South Africa . In 1862, an English team made the first tour of Australia. The first Australian team to travel overseas consisted of Aboriginal stockmen who toured England in 1868 . In 1876–77, an England team took part in what
5508-461: The Dukes of Richmond , exerted their honour code of noblesse oblige to claim rights of leadership in any sporting contests they took part in, especially as it was necessary for them to play alongside their "social inferiors" if they were to win their bets. In time, a perception took hold that the typical amateur who played in first-class cricket, until 1962 when amateurism was abolished, was someone with
5670-580: The Indian Premier League franchise Chennai Super Kings and later returned to coaching in South Africa. Wessels was six years old when he was introduced to the game of cricket. Volsteedt taught him the basics of the game and began to regularly play cricket with him during Sunday visits to the Wessels household. A few years later, Volsteedt became the master in charge of cricket at Grey College, Bloemfontein , and coached Wessels during his playing days for
5832-445: The NFL in terms of per-match value of broadcast rights, sitting at USD 15.1 million per match, for a deal worth USD 6 billion running from 2023-27. However, the traditional form of the game, first-class cricket and Test matches , is still played around the world, and in recent seasons has challenged one-day cricket for the interest of the public. Indeed, membership of a Test Cricket side
5994-624: The University of Houston . However, due to the fact that he played as an under-16 against adults, Wessels began to lose regularly in senior tournaments. After a dramatic loss during the Griqualand West Open in Kimberley – after which he cut all the strings from his racket in the changing room – Wessels turned down the offer from Houston and decided to focus all his attention on cricket. As a young cricket player, Wessels scored his first century at
6156-467: The West Indies . Women's cricket , which is organised and played separately, has also achieved international standard. The most successful side playing international cricket is Australia , which has won eight One Day International trophies, including six World Cups , more than any other country, and has been the top-rated Test side more than any other country. Cricket is one of many games in
6318-512: The West Indies . Any hope that Wessels and other new Australian batsmen would cope against the West Indian fast bowling was dashed. Wessels scored 4 and 20 in the first Test and 4 and 4 in the second Test, before injury ruled him out of the rest of the series. He was dismissed by West Indian fast bowler Joel Garner three times, and was nicknamed "Joel's bunny" as a result. For the first time in his Test career, Wessels' form had deserted him and he
6480-447: The limited overs contest , serving a warning to the ACB. A few days later, the official Australian team was humbled in the first Test against England at Brisbane, a precursor to a 5–1 thrashing for a side now captained by the unprepared Graham Yallop . Even Yallop felt himself unsuited to the position, and his team was unable to compete with an experienced, professional England side. Although
6642-444: The " Cavaliers " for this secondary tour, a similar concept to the " International Cavaliers " teams of the 1960s in England. The team captained by Eddie Barlow was made of recently retired cricketers, such as Rohan Kanhai , David Holford and Ian Redpath and occasionally young Australians such as Trevor Chappell . It also starred a great innings at Maitland, New South Wales , by a then unheard of Kepler Wessels of 92 not out for
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6804-495: The " International Cup " featuring the Australian, West Indian, and World teams, was played alongside six Supertests in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth. The first day/night match, played at Melbourne's VFL Park, attracted some curiosity value, but generally, the paying public were indifferent to the series. Many took a lead from the hostile press, and official cricket benefited from a dramatic Test series played between Australia and
6966-401: The "club ball" sphere that involve hitting a ball with a hand-held implement. Others include baseball (which shares many similarities with cricket, both belonging in the more specific bat-and-ball games category ), golf , hockey , tennis , squash , badminton and table tennis . In cricket's case, a key difference is the existence of a solid target structure, the wicket (originally, it
7128-483: The "gladiatorial" aspect of fast bowling and heavily promoted fast bowlers such as Dennis Lillee , Imran Khan , Michael Holding and Andy Roberts . Packer was doubtful of the effectiveness of slow bowling. To counteract the continual rotation of pace bowlers on pitches of unproven quality, WSC batsmen felt the need to increase their bodily protection. In the Sydney Supertest on 16 December, Australian David Hookes
7290-592: The 13th Australian player to score a century on debut. Wessels dominated the English bowling, with scores of 162 in the first innings and 46 in the second. He was instrumental in Australia's victory by seven wickets and was given the "Man of the Match" award. He eventually played four Tests in his debut series and scored 386 runs at an average of 48.25. In April 1983, Australia played their inaugural Test match against Sri Lanka . Wessels continued his good form with 141, thus becoming
7452-610: The 1979–80 season, Greg Chappell was restored as Australian captain and the team contained an even mixture of WSC and non-WSC players. The season's schedule was similar to the WSC format. England and West Indies toured, playing three Tests each against Australia, with a triangular one-day tournament (the World Series Cup ) interspersed among the Tests. Australia's results were mixed: in the Test matches, they defeated England 3–0 (having lost 5–1 to
7614-481: The 1980 issue of Wisden : The feeling in many quarters was that when the Australian Board first found Packer at their throats, the rest of the cricket world supported them to the hilt; even to the extent of highly expensive court cases which cricket could ill afford. Now, when it suited Australia, they had brushed their friends aside to meet their own ends. The WSC Australian players (on tour in West Indies at
7776-486: The 1993/94 international season, Wessels' cricketing career reached full circle, as he captained the South African side in a tour to Australia. The first Test match of the tour, in Melbourne, was drawn. The second, and arguably most memorable, test was played out in front of a capacity crowd in Sydney. It turned out to be Wessels' last match of the tour, following a hand injury during play. Shane Warne took seven wickets in
7938-604: The 19th century. The game's governing body is the International Cricket Council (ICC), which has over 100 members, twelve of which are full members who play Test matches. The game's rules, the Laws of Cricket , are maintained by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in London . The sport is followed primarily in South Asia , Australia , New Zealand , the United Kingdom , Southern Africa , and
8100-531: The ACB's finances. The Pakistanis played their WSC men in what turned out to be an ill-tempered series. WSC then headed to the Caribbean for a tense, hard-fought series that players from both Australia and West Indies declared the best they ever played in. A riot marred the Guyana Supertest, but the five Supertests and 12 one-day matches went some way toward reducing the debts of the West Indies board. The last cricket action of WSC occurred on 10 April 1979,
8262-550: The ACB-Packer fight and decided to select all of their WSC players for the first two Tests, until the West Indies Cricket Board of Control made a decision to leave out three of their WSC-contracted players for the 3rd Test, ostensibly to allow others a chance to play in Test matches prior to the West Indies' tour to India and Sri Lanka later in the year, which would be at a time that World Series Cricket could not guarantee
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#17330845452118424-567: The Caribbean. It was the end of his World Series Cricket experience, as Packer reached a settlement with the Australian Cricket Board in 1979. The World Series was disbanded after that. Wessels stayed in Australia to qualify for the Australian Test side, playing for Queensland , and made his debut against England at The Gabba in Brisbane on 26 November 1982. He became the first South-African born person to play for Australia, and
8586-640: The Cavaliers. These matches brought cricket to venues that rarely saw big games. Packer demonstrated his political clout by getting New South Wales premier Neville Wran to overturn the ban on WSC and allow matches to be played at the traditional home of the game, the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). To boot, Wran had his government foot the bill to install floodlights at the SCG good enough to be used in WSC matches. WSC also gained access to Brisbane's Test ground, Brisbane Cricket Ground , and were offered use of
8748-520: The Englishmen merely defeated the opposition presented, they further damaged the ACB's cause by playing slow, grinding cricket. Consequently, attendances were poor and the media clamoured for the Australian team to return to full strength. On the other hand, WSC, with its aggressive marketing, nighttime play, and a plethora of one-day matches, had increased both attendances and television ratings. The targeted audience of women and children flocked to WSC, and
8910-545: The ICC might have stretched the concept of loyalty too far. Players could not be criticised for entering the contracts in secrecy as the main authorities would deny the players the opportunity to enjoy the advantages offered by WSC. The decision was a blow to the cricket authorities and, adding insult to injury, they had to pay court costs. English County cricket teams were pleased as their players who had signed to play for Packer were still eligible to play for them. Official cricket won
9072-511: The International Cricket Conference ( ICC ), now entered a controversy initially perceived as an Australian domestic problem. They met with Packer, Benaud and two assistants at Lord's on 23 June to discuss the WSC plans. After ninety minutes of compromise from both sides had almost created common ground, Packer demanded that the ICC award him the exclusive Australian television rights after the 1978–79 season ended. It wasn't in
9234-571: The Middle Dutch phrase for hockey, " met de (krik ket)sen " ("with the stick chase"). Gillmeister has suggested that not only the name but also the sport itself may be of Flemish origin. Although the main object of the game has always been to score the most runs , the early form of cricket differed from the modern game in certain key technical aspects; the North American variant of cricket known as wicket retained many of these aspects. The ball
9396-500: The South African schools side, the third season as captain. Wessels finished his high school cricket career with an innings of 130 not out, during a home game for Grey College, against rival Queen's College from the Eastern Cape . His superb innings laid the foundation for Grey's first victory over Queen's in 18 years. He played his first first-class match at the age of 16, batting at number nine and making 32 for Orange Free State in
9558-560: The Sri Lankan team during their tour of Pakistan led to Pakistan being unable to host matches until 2019. In 2017, Afghanistan and Ireland became the 11th and 12th Test nations. In cricket, the rules of the game are codified in The Laws of Cricket (hereinafter called "the Laws"), which has a global remit. There are 42 Laws (always written with a capital "L"). The earliest known version of
9720-497: The Sydney Cricket Ground, providing one of the most lasting images of the tournament. South Africa narrowly lost to a West Indian team featuring such players as Curtly Ambrose , Courtney Walsh , Patrick Patterson , Desmond Haynes and Brian Lara . South Africa, under Wessels' leadership, controlled most of the match but fell for 148 chasing 201 for victory in the final innings. This was blamed on remarkable bowling from
9882-474: The Sydney club side and the selectors immediately named him in the state training squad. That was the signal Packer needed and he quickly called a press conference to announce that Wessels would be playing World Series Cricket instead. Packer saw in Wessels a reliable opening batsman – something that the Australian WSC side was in serious need of. To help him find his feet in the new environment, Wessels played
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#173308454521110044-440: The Tests, and the media coverage was very supportive of the ACB throughout the summer. By contrast, Packer was seen disconsolately counting cars as they arrived in the car park at some of his matches. He held one glimmer of hope, however. The best-attended matches had been the day-night fixtures, and this format would become the backbone of the programming for the second season. In hindsight, his organisation's ability to even stage
10206-477: The WSC offered. He arrived in Sydney at the age of 21 and was put on trial at the local Waverley club , for Packer to see first if Wessels was decent material for World Series Cricket . After scoring 123 against Penrith, newspapers started speculating about a place for Wessels in the New South Wales state side . The media was unaware that Wessels had already signed for Packer. An innings of 137 followed against
10368-493: The West Indian pacemen, with one reporter commenting; 'They [Walsh and Ambrose] pitched everything on off stump and let a pitch stricken by multiple-personality disorder do the rest. Each perfect delivery was followed by another perfect delivery. It was as if Richie Richardson had found a loophole in the laws that allowed him to unleash the same unplayable bowler from both ends. Fittingly, that Wambrose bloke ended up with 10 wickets.' Wessels contributed 59 and 74 in this Test. During
10530-504: The West Indians began at VFL Park on 2 December 1977. The standard of the cricket was excellent, but the crowds were poor, which was emphasised by the stadium's capacity of 79,000. The official Test match played in Brisbane at the same time, featuring the weakened Australian team and India, attracted far more spectators. Employing personality-based marketing, WSC placed great emphasis on
10692-595: The West Indies and, thanks to a vicious bowling assault on their batsmen, the South Africans claimed victory. They won their remaining matches against Pakistan and Zimbabwe , but lost against England. The last group match against India was now vital if they were to reach the semi-finals of the tournament. Rain-delays caused the match to be played 30 overs a side and, once again, South Africa managed to secure victory after India set an imposing target. Wessels and his team were to play against England in Sydney. Four days before
10854-526: The West Indies, WSC began making noises about a tour to England and signing enough players for stand-alone England and Pakistan teams. A second-tier tour was created for the 1978–79 season, taking the game to provincial centres around Australia and giving back-up players an opportunity to play regularly. This tour covered a 20,000-kilometre route between Cairns in Queensland to Devonport in Tasmania. WSC created
11016-410: The World XI, Wessels scored 27 in his first innings, but experienced a miserable second one. Australia lost by five wickets. The one-day series involved a best-of-five final between Australia and the West Indies and Wessels scored an unbeaten 136 during the first match which was the only century in the WSC International Cup, during one of the finest one-day innings of his career. He scored 40 and 70 from
11178-404: The age of nine and was taken into the Free State under-13 side during the same year, getting scores of 80, 80, 88 and 121 against players four years his senior. By the end of 1969, his batting average for Grey College (after nine innings) was 259.59. He was selected to represent the Free State schools side at the prestigious Nuffield Week for five consecutive seasons; and was selected three times for
11340-425: The availability of their West Indian players. The non-selection of these three players led to the resignation of Clive Lloyd as captain, and all of the WSC contracted West Indian players to declare themselves unavailable for the rest of the series. Between the two WSC seasons, the united front presented by the ICC countries began to erode. The highest ill-feeling toward Packer existed in England, but many officials of
11502-454: The ball hits the striker's wicket and dislodges the bails, and by the fielding side either catching the ball after it is hit by the bat but before it hits the ground, or hitting a wicket with the ball before a batter can cross the crease line in front of the wicket. When ten batters have been dismissed, the innings (playing phase) ends and the teams swap roles. Forms of cricket range from traditional Test matches played over five days to
11664-466: The ball, which is a hard, solid spheroid made of compressed leather with a slightly raised sewn seam enclosing a cork core layered with tightly wound string. The earliest known definite reference to cricket is to it being played in South East England in the mid-16th century. It spread globally with the expansion of the British Empire , with the first international matches in the second half of
11826-449: The batting team are on the field at any given time. The order of batters is usually announced just before the match, but it can be varied. The main objective of each team is to score more runs than their opponents, but in some forms of cricket, it is also necessary to dismiss all but one of the opposition batters (making their team 'all out') in their final innings in order to win the match, which would otherwise be drawn (not ending with
11988-413: The best side of the world on the basis of the performances of some of their players (LeRoux and Proctor best bowling averages, Barry Richards best batting average) in WSC. Meanwhile, WSC continued to up the stakes for the embattled ACB, optioning a number of young Australians and signing more overseas players: they now had well over 50 cricketers under contract. After organising the tours of New Zealand and
12150-529: The bowler, bowls the ball toward the striker's wicket from the opposite end of the pitch. The striker's goal is to hit the bowled ball with the bat and then switch places with the nonstriker, with the batting team scoring one run for each of these exchanges. Runs are also scored when the ball reaches the boundary of the field or when the ball is bowled illegally . The fielding team tries to prevent runs from being scored by dismissing batters (so they are "out"). Means of dismissal include being bowled , when
12312-421: The bowling crease, but is also, in fact, unlimited in length. Before a match begins, the team captains (who are also players) toss a coin to decide which team will bat first and so take the first innings . "Innings" is the term used for each phase of play in the match. In each innings, one team bats, attempting to score runs , while the other team bowls and fields the ball , attempting to restrict
12474-414: The code was drafted in 1744, and since 1788, it has been owned and maintained by its custodian, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in London . Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played on a cricket field (see image of cricket pitch and creases) between two teams of eleven players each. The field is usually circular or oval in shape, and the edge of the playing area is marked by a boundary , which may be
12636-489: The county clubs were prepared to keep Packer players on their books. The West Indies were the most financially vulnerable, and only voted for the original ICC in the interests of unity. The financial and political problems of the recent Australian tour led them to begin negotiations with Packer for a WSC series in the Caribbean during the spring of 1979. Initially, Pakistan took a hard line and refused to select their Packer players, but when WSC signed additional Pakistanis during
12798-405: The cricket establishment, most of whom had been singing his praises just weeks before. It seemed certain that all Packer players would be banned from Test and first-class cricket. The Australian players were a divided group and the management made their displeasure clear to the Packer signees. Dispirited by this turn of events and hampered by poor form and indifferent weather, Australia crashed to
12960-555: The cricket team's continuing participation in the tournament, but also the future participation of other South African sports teams in international competitions. The semi-final against England took place on 22 March 1992 at the Sydney Cricket Ground. England reached a total of 252 for 6 (in 45 overs) and South Africa required a run-rate of 5.62 to win. With 13 balls left in the match, they required 22 more runs, when rain suddenly started pouring down over Sydney. Two overs (or 12 balls) were lost and when play resumed, South Africa's new target
13122-548: The derisive term "shamateur" was coined to describe the practice. The game underwent major development in the 18th century to become England's national sport . Its success was underwritten by the twin necessities of patronage and betting. Cricket was prominent in London as early as 1707 and, in the middle years of the century, large crowds flocked to matches on the Artillery Ground in Finsbury . The single wicket form of
13284-405: The earliest known contest that is generally considered a First Class match. The patrons and other players from the gentry began to classify themselves as " amateurs " to establish a clear distinction from the professionals, who were invariably members of the working class , even to the point of having separate changing and dining facilities. The gentry, including such high-ranking nobles as
13446-536: The eleven players were making their debuts. At 34, Wessels had both the first-class experience of contemporaries such as Clive Rice and Jimmy Cook , but also had experience at Test level that no other South African player had. As a result of these credentials, he was chosen to captain the inexperienced South African side to the 1992 Cricket World Cup, which would signal the country's return to official international cricket. The decision to name Wessels captain over such local heroes as Rice and Cook (who both didn't even make
13608-994: The established cricket boards and Packer wished to secure the exclusive broadcasting rights to Australian cricket, then held by the non-commercial, government-owned Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) , to realise and capitalise on the commercial potential of cricket. After the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) refused to accept Channel Nine's bid to gain exclusive television rights to Australia's Test matches in 1976, Packer set up his own series by secretly signing agreements with leading Australian, English, Pakistani, South African and West Indian players, most notably England captain Tony Greig , West Indies captain Clive Lloyd , Australian captain Greg Chappell , future Pakistani captain Imran Khan and former Australian captain Ian Chappell . Packer
13770-456: The existence of players like him who were nominally amateur but, in terms of their financial gain, de facto professional. Grace himself was said to have been paid more money for playing cricket than any professional. The last two decades before the First World War have been called the " Golden Age of cricket ". It is a nostalgic name prompted by the collective sense of loss resulting from
13932-415: The final day of a drawn Supertest at Antigua . The West Indies and Australia finished the series 1–1. By 1979, the ACB was in desperate financial straits and faced the prospect of fighting an opponent who had seemingly endless cash resources. In two seasons, the combined losses of the two biggest cricket associations, New South Wales and Victoria , totalled more than half a million dollars. Kerry Packer
14094-489: The first helmets appeared on batsmen's heads. Initially, Englishman Dennis Amiss sported a motorcycle helmet when batting in WSC, and he was quickly followed by many other players. Protective cricket equipment developed rapidly, and by the end of WSC, virtually all batsmen in WSC and official Test matches were sporting some form of protective headwear. WSC decided to place a greater emphasis on one-day cricket than it had previously been given in Australia. A one-day series,
14256-416: The first innings and 70 in the second, in a match where the Australian batting was being taken apart by the West Indian bowlers. The fourth Test saw Wessels continue his heavy scoring, with 90 and 0 helping Australia force a draw. It was in the fifth Test, however, which saw him totally dominate the West Indian bowlers with 173. His batting helped Australia to 9 (declared) for 471, which was a winning total on
14418-422: The first innings and everything seemed lost for the South Africans. However, thanks to some heroic bowling and batting by the visitors, Australia was eventually set a winning target of 117 runs in the second innings. The home side was bowled out for 110 runs, and South Africa won their first Test match against Australia since 1970. Wessels was forced to return to South Africa because of his injury, thus missing out on
14580-585: The first limited overs Cricket World Cup in 1975 . Sri Lanka joined the ranks in 1982. Meanwhile, South Africa was banned by the ICC due to apartheid from 1970 until 1992. 1992 also brought about the introduction of the Zimbabwe team . The 21st century brought with it the Bangladesh Team , who made their Test debut in 2000. The game itself also grew, with a new format made up of 20-over innings being created. This format, called T20 cricket , quickly became
14742-500: The first overseas player to score a century in Sri Lanka. He was named "man of the match" in Australia's innings victory. Wessels also played in the 1983 World Cup. He made 76 against Zimbabwe but it was not enough to save Australia from defeat. After failing against West Indies and India, he was dropped from the side. Wessels played in each of the five Tests against Pakistan , scoring 256 runs at an average of 42.66. This included 179 in
14904-488: The first time, the game's officialdom had a demonstration of Packer's wherewithal: he immediately doubled his original offer and won the contract. But he never forgot the machinations involved in winning the bid. Packer's planning of the proposed "exhibition" series was audacious. In early 1977, he began contracting a list of Australian players provided by recently retired Australian Test captain Ian Chappell . A bigger coup
15066-526: The fourth match. Wessels played with many former Australian teammates in this series, including Kim Hughes , John Dyson , Steve Smith , Rodney Hogg , Carl Rackemann and Terry Alderman . His involvement in this tour re-ignited suspicions that he was one of the covert organizers, but it was the last time Wessels ever represented Australia in cricket. Frank Heydenrych, writing for the 1991 Wisden, comments upon Eastern Province's success during this season: In 1989/90 Wessels also played for South Africa against
15228-450: The game at county level led to the creation of the county clubs , starting with Sussex in 1839. In December 1889, the eight leading county clubs formed the official County Championship , which began in 1890. The most famous player of the 19th century was W. G. Grace , who started his long and influential career in 1865. It was especially during the career of Grace that the distinction between amateurs and professionals became blurred by
15390-424: The game progresses (cricket can also be played on artificial surfaces, notably matting). Each wicket is made of three wooden stumps topped by two bails . As illustrated, the pitch is marked at each end with four white painted lines: a bowling crease , a popping crease and two return creases . The three stumps are aligned centrally on the bowling crease, which is eight feet eight inches long. The popping crease
15552-432: The game quickly grew from 500 tests in 84 years to 1000 within the next 23. Cricket entered a new era in 1963 when English counties introduced the limited overs variant. As it was sure to produce a result, limited overs cricket was lucrative, and the number of matches increased. The first Limited Overs International was played in 1971, and the governing International Cricket Council (ICC), seeing its potential, staged
15714-530: The game, with the recent innovation of the Day-night test proving popular. Players became full-time professionals, and at least in the larger cricketing nations are very well-paid, mainly through television rights; broadcasters now have a huge say in the running of the game. With the advent of Twenty20 cricket, players can now play in many domestic leagues around the world and attract high salaries, partly due to broadcast rights. The Indian Premier League only trails
15876-470: The game. Wessels was, at times, heavily criticised for his alleged inability to play one-day cricket. Although he played 109 One Day Internationals for both Australia and South Africa, he averaged only 34.35, at a strike rate of 55.3, and scored only one ODI century in his career. From the Channel Nine commentary box, Tony Greig went as far as to say that Wessels "went through a period when his temperament
16038-487: The games at such short notice was a triumph and excellent fine-tuning for what was to come. So far, the ACB had enjoyed the backing of the press and the true aficionados of the game. But a series of misfortunes and poor decisions came to plague the ACB in their battle to stay ahead of Packer. The official Australian team toured the Caribbean under Bob Simpson in March 1978. The West Indies cricket officials had no wish to buy into
16200-421: The greatest Test batter of all time. To curb his dominance, England employed bodyline tactics during the 1932–33 Ashes series . These involved bowling at the body of the batter and setting a field, resulting in batters having to choose between being hit or risk getting out. This series moved cricket from a game to a matter of national importance , with diplomatic cables being passed between the two countries over
16362-529: The hands, a safety helmet for the head, and a box for male players inside the trousers (to protect the crotch area). Some batters wear additional padding inside their shirts and trousers such as thigh pads, arm pads, rib protectors and shoulder pads. The only fielders allowed to wear protective gear are those in positions very close to the batter (i.e., if they are alongside or in front of him), but they cannot wear gloves or external leg guards. Subject to certain variations, on-field clothing generally includes
16524-493: The home series against India by 1–0, fans and critics sharpened their pencils and attacked the captain mercilessly for his team's apparent lack of passion and ambition. The fourth test in Cape Town, in particular, was condemned across the cricketing world. The two teams scored a total of 795 runs in 433.4 overs, at an average of only 1.83 runs per over and ended in a draw. Wessels commented on the criticism in his biography, saying: "It
16686-488: The impending rebel tour to South Africa affected Wessels' concentration during the 1985 Ashes tour. Because of his South African background, Wessels was seen by many players and officials as one of the major contacts for the Rebel Tour amongst the Australian players. Wessels has steadfastly denied this accusation. Wessels' final match for Australia was the first Test against New Zealand in Brisbane, 8–12 November 1985. Wessels
16848-515: The incident. During this time, the number of Test nations continued to grow, with the West Indies , New Zealand and India being admitted as full Test members within a four-year period from 1928 to 1932. An enforced break during the Second World War stopped Test Cricket for a time, although the Partition of India caused Pakistan to gain Test status in 1952. As teams began to travel more,
17010-492: The innings. He's the bloke I want in that role." Despite the criticism, Wessels collected many player's accolades during his ODI career, including the "Man of the Series" award during the 1983 ODI series against the West Indies, as well as the "Man of the Match" award for his 81 not out against Australia in the 1992 World Cup. He was never dismissed for a duck during his 105 ODI innings; no other retired player can boast this feat for
17172-462: The many media interests owned by the family's company Consolidated Press Holdings (CPH). With Nine's ratings languishing, Packer sought to turn the network around via an aggressive strategy that included more sports programming. Firstly, he secured the rights to the Australian Open golf tournament . He spent millions of dollars revamping The Australian Golf Club in Sydney as a permanent home for
17334-413: The modern calendar). The case concerned ownership of a certain plot of land, and the court heard the testimony of a 59-year-old coroner , John Derrick , who gave witness that: Being a scholler in the ffree schoole of Guldeford hee and diverse of his fellows did runne and play there at creckett and other plaies. Given Derrick's age, it was about half a century earlier when he was at school, and so it
17496-541: The name may have been derived from the Middle Dutch (in use in Flanders at the time) " krick " ( -e ), meaning a stick (crook). Another possible source is the Middle Dutch word " krickstoel " , meaning a long low stool used for kneeling in church that resembled the long low wicket with two stumps used in early cricket. According to Heiner Gillmeister, a European language expert of Bonn University , "cricket" derives from
17658-410: The nature of cricket, and its influence continues to be felt today. Three main factors caused the formation of WSC — a widespread view that players were not paid sufficient amounts to make a living from cricket or reflect their market value and that following the development of colour television and increased viewer audiences of sports events, the commercial potential of cricket was not being achieved by
17820-448: The newer Twenty20 format (also known as T20 ), in which each team bats for a single innings of 20 overs (each "over" being a set of 6 fair opportunities for the batting team to score) and the game generally lasts three to four hours. Traditionally, cricketers play in all-white kit , but in limited overs cricket , they wear club or team colours. In addition to the basic kit, some players wear protective gear to prevent injury caused by
17982-564: The next game and then got 92 against the Cavaliers side. A Supertest against a 'Rest of the World' side followed in Melbourne, but Wessels scored only eight in the first innings. In the second innings, he managed to get to 46. He regained some respect, however, during the next Supertest against the WSC West Indies , by scoring 126 in his first innings. During the Supertest final between Australia and
18144-510: The next two games respectively, after which the West Indies led the series 2–1. They won the series during the fourth match, thanks to a better run-rate, when Australia couldn't finish bowling their 50 overs by the scheduled end of the match at 10:30 p. m. A third leg to the World Series was due to be played in the West Indies, but Wessels was forced to stay behind, because he still held a South African passport and would not be granted visas for
18306-662: The off-season, and when an under-strength official Pakistan team were easily beaten by England in the three-Test series in the English summer of 1978, they took a more pragmatic approach, so when it came time in October 1978 for the first Test series between Pakistan and India for seventeen years, all the Packer players were included. Ostensibly, India were not involved as yet, but rumours abounded that their captain Bishan Bedi and star batsman Sunil Gavaskar had signed WSC options. New Zealand's chief administrator, Walter Hadlee , had advocated
18468-507: The players and taking legal action to prevent third parties from inducing players to break their contracts. To clarify the legal implications (including the proposed bans), Packer backed a challenge to the TCCB in the High Court by three of his players: Tony Greig, Mike Procter and John Snow . The case began on 26 September 1977 and lasted seven weeks. The cricket authority's counsel said that if
18630-470: The playing standard remained high. The Supertest final at the SCG between Australia XI and Rest Of The World XI, played under lights, drew almost 40,000 spectators over three days. The sixth Australia-England Test at the same venue a week later was attended by just 22,000 people for four days of play. Later in the season, the ACB scheduled two Tests against Pakistan , which brought the number of Tests played by Australia to eight. This overkill further damaged
18792-401: The poor performance of almost all of Australia's batting in that match, he was retained for the second Test. He responded by going out for 0 after the second ball, and many people thought that his career was over. In the second innings, however, he top scored with 61, giving the selectors no option but to include him for the third Test. Batting up number 3, Wessels top scored again with 98 runs in
18954-616: The power of the ICC to do so and Packer stormed from the meeting to deliver the following unadulterated declaration of war: Had I got those TV rights I was prepared to withdraw from the scene and leave the running of cricket to the board. I will take no steps now to help anyone. It's every man for himself and the devil take the hindmost. This outburst undid any goodwill that Packer had created during his earlier television appearance, and alarmed his contracted players, who had viewed his scheme as being as much philanthropic as commercial. The ICC decided to treat Packer's scheme with contempt when
19116-546: The previous contract), yet he was rebuffed. The ACB felt loyal to the ABC , which had broadcast the game for twenty years when the commercial networks showed little interest in the game. Packer believed that there was an " old-boy network " element to the decision, and he was furious at the dismissive way that his bid was handled. The government-funded ABC could not hope to match a commercial network's bid, but they were awarded another three-year contract worth only $ 210,000, commencing with
19278-405: The rest of the tour. He was, however, immediately reinstated as captain for the home series against Australia. The series was drawn 1–1, and Wessels was criticised for 'baffling' captaincy in the final Test by failing to declare and allowing the tail to score slowly when South Africa seemed to be in a position to win the match and the series. He led the side to England in the summer of 1994, drawing
19440-444: The rules of Grey College did not allow him to play at such a young age. With the help of Johan Volsteedt (who was the first team captain), Wessels was allowed to participate in the net practices and soon cricket became his main activity during summer. During winter, he played tennis, at which he won so frequently that, by 1973, he was the number 1 under-16 player in South Africa and was offered a scholarship of $ 25 000 over four years from
19602-449: The same opponents the previous summer) but lost 0–2 to West Indies, and they failed to make the final of the one-day tournament. The format of the season received heavy criticism, but still made a healthy profit, much of which went to PBL rather than the ACB. World Series Cricket changed the game in many ways. Due to the punishing schedule, cricketers had to be fitter than ever before. Night matches have become very common, in all forms of
19764-509: The school's first team. From a very early age, Wessels showed exceptional sporting talent. By the age of 12, he was playing rugby union for the Free State primary schools team and he was one of the leading schoolboy swimmers in the province. However, after a close encounter with death, due to nephritis , Kepler's father decided that his son would no longer be allowed to participate in swimming. Wessels decided to switch to cricket, even though
19926-412: The scoring and dismiss the batters. When the first innings ends, the teams change roles; there can be two to four innings depending upon the type of match. A match with four scheduled innings is played over three to five days; a match with two scheduled innings is usually completed in a single day. During an innings, all eleven members of the fielding team take the field, but usually only two members of
20088-461: The semi-final, South African President F.W. de Klerk called a referendum on political reform in South Africa, and the result of the vote seemed vital for South Africa's continuing in the Cricket World Cup. Some even suggested that the team would be withdrawn from the tournament, if the result of the referendum had been negative. The result of 68.7% in favour of political reform, ensured not only
20250-516: The series was the emergence of a West Indian side. The concept was originally envisaged as Australia versus Rest of the World. When the West Indians were offered contracts that would pay them more than they could earn in an entire career, they all signed with alacrity. However, WSC used the West Indian players in the Rest of the World team as well. The first WSC game, a "Supertest" between the Australians and
20412-481: The side) was met by widespread controversy. More than 10 000 signatures were collected for a petition against the dropping of Rice and Cook, while 71 percent of provincial players told the Sunday Times in South Africa, that they had no confidence in the selectors. Despite the local outrage, Wessels led the unknown South African side in the tournament. Playing against Australia in their opening match, they produced what
20574-443: The sport attracted huge crowds and wagers to match, its popularity peaking in the 1748 season . Bowling underwent an evolution around 1760 when bowlers began to pitch (bounce) the ball instead of rolling or skimming it towards the batter. This caused a revolution in bat design because, to deal with the bouncing ball, it was necessary to introduce the modern straight bat in place of the old "hockey stick" shape. The Hambledon Club
20736-413: The sport is that a bowler delivers (i.e., bowls) the ball from their end of the pitch towards the batter who, armed with a bat , is "on strike" at the other end (see next sub-section: Basic gameplay ). The bat is made of wood, usually Salix alba (white willow), and has the shape of a blade topped by a cylindrical handle. The blade must not be more than 4.25 inches (10.8 cm) wide and
20898-472: The story on 9 May. Immediately, all hell broke loose in the hitherto conservative world of cricket. Not unexpectedly, the English were critical of what they quickly dubbed the "Packer Circus" and reserved particular vitriol for the English captain Tony Greig, for his central role in organising the break-away. Greig retained his position in the team, but was stripped of the captaincy and ostracised by everyone in
21060-404: The third Test, which remained his top score. Despite this moderately good form, Wessels was outscored by five other Australian players who took advantage of the poor quality Pakistan bowling. Greg Chappell , Dennis Lillee and Rod Marsh all retired from Australian cricket at the end of the series, and much was expected of Wessels (and others) to score consistently in the upcoming series against
21222-474: The three Test series 1–1. Following a heavy defeat at the Oval , however, where he made the second highest score of 28 with the bat during a major collapse in the second innings, he retired from Test cricket and was replaced as captain by Hansie Cronje . After retiring he coached English county side Northamptonshire from 2003 to 2006. His son, Riki Wessels , also played for the club as a Kolpak player . In 2008, he
21384-415: The time) had no input into the negotiations. This left some disillusioned and apprehensive that they would suffer discrimination from the ACB in the coming years. The ACB opted to not select WSC-contracted players for the tours of England (for the 1979 World Cup ) and India (for six Tests ) later in the year. Both tours produced sub-standard Australian performances, and both were led by Kim Hughes . For
21546-482: The top players deserted traditional cricket then gate receipts would decline. Mr. Packer's lawyers stated that the ICC had tried to force the Packer players to break their contracts and to prevent others from joining them. Mr Justice Christopher Slade considered the following nine points: Justice Slade in his judgement said that professional cricketers need to make a living and the ICC should not stand in their way just because its own interests might be damaged. He said
21708-536: The total length of the bat not more than 38 inches (97 cm). There is no standard for the weight, which is usually between 2 lb 7 oz and 3 lb (1.1 and 1.4 kg). World Series Cricket World Series Cricket ( WSC ) was a commercial professional cricket competition staged between 1977 and 1979 which was organised by Kerry Packer and his Australian television network, Nine Network . WSC ran in commercial competition to established international cricket. World Series Cricket drastically changed
21870-447: The tournament. Jack Nicklaus was hired to redesign the course and to appear in the tournament. Packer was a fan of cricket, which was undergoing a resurgence in popularity during the mid-1970s. In 1976, Packer sought the rights to televise Australia's home Test matches, the contract for which was about to expire. He approached the ACB with an offer of A$ 1.5 million for three years (eight times
22032-523: The war, but the period did produce some great players and memorable matches, especially as organised competition at county and Test level developed. In 1844, the first-ever international match took place between what were essentially club teams, from the United States and Canada , in Toronto ; Canada won. In 1859, a team of English players went to North America on the first overseas tour . Meanwhile,
22194-463: Was Paul Hogan 's business manager and on-screen sidekick. Packer took this idea, then fleshed it out into a full series between the best Australian players and a team from the rest of the world. His mistrust of cricket's administrators deepened when the ACB recommended the TCCB accept an offer for their broadcasts rights from the ABC, even though ABC's $ 210,000 offer was only 14% of the offer from Packer. For
22356-651: Was bowled underarm by the bowler and along the ground towards a batter armed with a bat that in shape resembled a hockey stick ; the batter defended a low, two-stump wicket ; and runs were called notches because the scorers recorded them by notching tally sticks. In 1611, the year Cotgrave 's dictionary was published, ecclesiastical court records at Sidlesham in Sussex state that two parishioners, Bartholomew Wyatt and Richard Latter, failed to attend church on Easter Sunday because they were playing cricket. They were fined 12 d each and ordered to do penance . This
22518-538: Was a "great upsurge of sport after the Restoration " in 1660. Several members of the court of King Charles II took a strong interest in cricket during that era. Gambling on sport became a problem significant enough for Parliament to pass the 1664 Gambling Act, limiting stakes to £ 100, which was, in any case, a colossal sum exceeding the annual income of 99% of the population. Along with horse racing , as well as prizefighting and other types of blood sport , cricket
22680-649: Was achieved when Packer convinced the England captain Tony Greig to not only sign on, but to act as an agent in signing many players around the world. By the time the season climaxed with the Centenary Test match between Australia and England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in March 1977, about two dozen players had committed to Packer's enterprise, which as yet had no grounds to play on, no administration and
22842-403: Was aided by businessmen John Cornell and Austin Robertson , both of whom were involved with the initial setup and administration of the series. Australian Captain Ian Chappell summed up the quality of World Series Cricket by saying it was the toughest cricket that he ever played (having all the best players in the world involved). In the mid-1970s, the Australian television industry was at
23004-676: Was almost as if they thought we should win every series 4–0. They simply don't understand that modern Test cricket is tough and competitive." Since retiring he has taken up lawn bowls, playing for the Belgravia Bowls Club and has twice finished runner-up in the National Championships ; in 2013 in the fours event and again in 2016 in the pairs event with Gerry Baker . Cricket First-class cricket One Day International Limited overs (domestic) Twenty20 International Twenty20 (domestic) Other forms Cricket
23166-477: Was alone in resisting the devastating bowling of Richard Hadlee , scoring 70 out of Australia's first innings total of 179. He scored only 3 in the second innings, with Australia suffering its heaviest defeat against New Zealand. Soon after the match was finished, Wessels announced his retirement, expressing his disillusionment with Australian cricket. He did not realise that 6 years later he would be playing Test Cricket again, this time for his home nation. Cricket
23328-409: Was also feeling the financial pinch – many years later, WSC insiders claimed that the losses he incurred were very much higher than the amounts quoted at the time. During March of that year, Packer instigated a series of meetings with then chairman of the ACB board, Bob Parish, which hammered out an agreement on the future of Australian cricket. When Parish announced the truce on 30 May 1979, a surprise
23490-461: Was arguably the biggest surprise of the tournament, beating the hosts by nine wickets. However, the spectacular victory was followed by consecutive defeats against New Zealand and Sri Lanka. Once again, criticism against Wessels started to mount back in South Africa, with many analysts believing that South Africa's problems were caused by the captain's conservative approach to one-day cricket. South Africa desperately needed to win their next match against
23652-422: Was auspicious, captaining the side to a 212-run victory over Orange Free State, and scoring 133 and 78 against a bowling attack that included a young Allan Donald . Wessels was also included in the 1986-7 Australian rebel tour to South Africa , where he played for Australia. The series of four "Tests" ended in a 1–0 victory to the South African team, but Wessels scored 327 runs at 54.50, including two centuries in
23814-401: Was calculated by subtracting the number of runs England had scored in their two least productive overs (those totalling just one run). South Africa thus required 21 runs off one ball, although the scoreboard initially displayed a target of 22. The last ball was played with batsman Brian MacMillan scoring a single, and South Africa lost the semi-final by 19 runs. The team did a lap of honour around
23976-918: Was chosen to coach the Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He later moved to the Highveld Lions franchise in South Africa as a consultant. In 2018, Wessels became a member of the Cricket Australia Supplementary Referee Panel. As of 2020 he is Director of Coaching and First Grade Coach for the South Brisbane District Cricket Club . Wessels was the subject of much criticism during his cricket career, especially from his country of birth, South Africa. It ranged from doubts over his ability to play one-day cricket, his "ugly" stance to his style of captaining as well as his rather serious approach to
24138-430: Was considered impossible to create the pitches in such a short time. However, Packer hired curator John Maley, who pioneered the concept of "drop-in" pitches . These pitches were grown in hothouses outside the venue, then dropped into the playing surface with cranes. This revolutionary technique was the unsung highlight of the first season of WSC – without them, WSC would have been a folly. Another unexpected element of
24300-592: Was founded in the 1760s and, for the next twenty years until the formation of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and the opening of Lord's Old Ground in 1787, Hambledon was both the game's greatest club and its focal point. MCC quickly became the sport's premier club and the custodian of the Laws of Cricket . New Laws introduced in the latter part of the 18th century include the three-stump wicket and leg before wicket (lbw). The 19th century saw underarm bowling superseded by first roundarm and then overarm bowling . Both developments were controversial. Organisation of
24462-469: Was hit a sickening blow from a bouncer bowled by West Indian Andy Roberts . Paradoxically, the effect of Hookes' broken jaw, captured graphically by Nine's cameras, served to "legitimise" the WSC matches: ... he had his jaw shattered by a bouncer from Andy Roberts ... Until that moment, WSC had looked suspiciously like a thrown-together entertainment package; Hookes' injury impressed the contest's intensity on all observers. This incident had another effect:
24624-436: Was in store for followers of the game. Not only had Channel Nine won the exclusive rights to telecast Australian cricket, it was granted a ten-year contract to promote and market the game through a new company, PBL Marketing. The ACB capitulation infuriated the English authorities and the ICC as they had provided much in the way of financial and moral support to the ACB, which now appeared to have sold out to Packer. According to
24786-482: Was not a certainty for selection when the West Indians toured Australia in 1984/85. However he won man of the series during a five-match one day tour of India in September and October 1984 . As a Test player, Wessels' most successful period came during the disastrous West Indian tour of Australia. After scoring only 13 and 0 in the first Test, Wessels was in danger of being dropped from the Australian side. However, due to
24948-490: Was perceived to be a gambling sport. Rich patrons made matches for high stakes, forming teams in which they engaged the first professional players. By the end of the century, cricket had developed into a major sport that was spreading throughout England and was already being taken abroad by English mariners and colonisers—the earliest reference to cricket overseas is dated 1676. A 1697 newspaper report survives of "a great cricket match" played in Sussex "for fifty guineas apiece",
25110-405: Was retrospectively recognised as the first-ever Test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground against Australia . The rivalry between England and Australia gave birth to The Ashes in 1882, which remains Test cricket's most famous contest. Test cricket began to expand in 1888–89 when South Africa played England. The inter-war years were dominated by Australia 's Don Bradman , statistically
25272-489: Was secret to all in the cricket world. It was a measure of the players' dissatisfaction with official cricket that they were prepared to sign up for what was still a vague concept and yet keep everything covert. By the time the Australian team arrived to tour England in May 1977, thirteen of the seventeen members of the squad had committed to Packer. News of the WSC plans were inadvertently leaked to Australian journalists, who broke
25434-512: Was shut out of traditional cricket venues, so Packer leased two Australian rules football stadiums ( VFL Park in Melbourne and Football Park in Adelaide ), as well as Perth 's Gloucester Park (a trotting track ) and Sydney 's Moore Park Showground . The obvious problem was preparing grass pitches of suitable standard at these venues, where none had existed previously. By common consensus, it
25596-507: Was still Wessels' profession, and he played a full season (1985/86) of Sheffield Shield Cricket for Queensland where he scored 957 runs at an average of 50.37. He also captained the side in Border's absence, and was unlucky not to captain the first Queensland side to win the Sheffield Shield. The final, between NSW and Queensland, was held in Sydney on 14–18 March 1986. Despite Wessels scoring 166 and 29 in his last match for Queensland, and despite
25758-429: Was the way of the future. The show significantly raised Packer's profile and converted some to his way of thinking. The main goal of his trip was to meet the game's authorities and reach some type of compromise. He made a canny move by securing Richie Benaud as a consultant. Benaud's standing in the game and his journalistic background helped steer Packer through the politics of the game. Cricket's world governing body,
25920-467: Was then realised that the sport had been transformed into one's livelihood. A largely unknown Kerry Packer arrived in London in late May 1977. He appeared on David Frost 's The Frost Programme to debate his concept with commentators Jim Laker and Robin Marlar . Marlar's aggressive, indignant interrogation of Packer came unstuck when Packer proved to be articulate, witty, and confident that his vision
26082-428: Was totally against everything that one-day cricket stood for." Wessels pointed out that he fulfilled the anchor role in the side and that it was his job to bat throughout an innings. Former Australian captain and teammate Kim Hughes , had publicly supported Wessels on this fact, saying: "Kepler hits so many boundaries that he is always going to score enough runs and, even in one-day cricket, you need someone who can anchor
26244-409: Was unable to maintain his form during the 1985 Ashes Tour of England. Although he scored three fifties (top score 83), Wessels ended the series with 368 runs at an average of 33.45. While this was not a failure, it was certainly below his best. Australia lost the series and suffered two very heavy innings defeats as, Allan Border aside, the batting lineup become increasingly fragile. It is likely that
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