Should the ICC officially recognise World Series Cricket?

[Jascave]

World Series Cricket ran for two seasons, 1977-78, and 1978-79, and during that time it produced the toughest & hardest cricket seen in this country.

Even more so, especially when you consider the quality of talent that was on display then-Greg & Ian Chappell, Lillee, Marsh, Lloyd, Viv Richards, Greig, Barry Richards, just to name a few.

The International Cricket Council said back in 1977 that WSC would not be given official recognition as first-class or International matches under the auspices of the ICC.

And even today, it still sticks by its ruling, even though WSC is now dead & buried.

Should the ICC finally recognise World Series Cricket matches-SuperTests & International Cup (one-day games) as first class games-30 years later? Sure, it wasn't Test cricket, but first class standard it was and should be given that status by the ICC.

[lionbear]

No, not at international level anyway.

[plugger]

Never has there been a better top shelf comp against elite cricketers..Quality fast bowlers against master batsmen..Swing and spin bowlers ..it had it all

[Freo Big Fella]

At the very least there should be recognition at a First Class and List-A level. I mean they're recognising the IPL, whose standard of competition is ridiculously inferior to WSC. Same with that stupid super-series and those Asia v Africa games.

[LIONS then DAYLIGHT]

Never has there been a better top shelf comp against elite cricketers..Quality fast bowlers against master batsmen..Swing and spin bowlers ..it had it all

Your not Ian Chappell are you?

Seriously, if i hear another person say "Ian Chappell wouldnt have done that" then i will lose the plot, if i haven't already, this series happened 30 years ago, its over, move on, this summer we will again at times have to listen to Chappell regurgitate stories that happened 30 years ago, it is time to move on.

Part of crickets problem is it is so stuck in the past, out of all Australian sports it is the one that has the biggest "they dont make them like they used" mentality among its ex players.

I dont care about what happened during a grade match in 1974 in Adelaide, or some World series Match 30 years ago.

[Adelaide Hawk]

Your not Ian Chappell are you?

Seriously, if i hear another person say "Ian Chappell wouldnt have done that" then i will lose the plot, if i haven't already, this series happened 30 years ago, its over, move on, this summer we will again at times have to listen to Chappell regurgitate stories that happened 30 years ago, it is time to move on.

Part of crickets problem is it is so stuck in the past, out of all Australian sports it is the one that has the biggest "they dont make them like they used" mentality among its ex players.

I dont care about what happened during a grade match in 1974 in Adelaide, or some World series Match 30 years ago.

.... and yet you think people should care about what YOU say :)

Ian Chappell is one of the rare people in the media who have a balanced point of view and have the cricket knowledge to make it interesting. It's the fact that he knows what he's talking about that confuses people.

Getting BACK ON TOPIC, of course these figures should be included. All players who competed in this series claim it was by far the most difficult and competitive cricket they had ever played.

It's mind boggling to consider some of the games that have passed as 1st class cricket over the years, and yet WSC matches, the highest standard of cricket ever played, is not.

[Jascave]

To give you an idea just how tough World Series Cricket was, ie you're playing against the WSC West Indies side which might have Andy Roberts, Joel Garner, Michael Holding & Colin Croft in a SuperTest match, and when that's over you might have to play against WSC World XI which could have in their team Roberts, Garner, Mike Proctor & Holding in a one-day international. There was no way out-of-form batsmen in the Australian side in WSC could go back to Sheffield Shield and try to regain some form, when you're playing against fast bowlers of that calibre.

[SBI]

No - they shouldn't. It was a rebel league and is no more entitled to be included than Joe Bloggs' backyard cricket competition.

Why not include the ICL as well? Or Hong Kong Sixes?

That being said, the SuperTest and Africa v Asia bollocks shouldn't be included either.

[tomemy]

YES they should and they also need to give approval to the World X1 games played in the 70s. It is absurd that Garfield Sobers innings of 254 for the world X1 v Australia at the M.C.G is not even included in his career stats, christ its probably the greatest innings ever played. If the ICC can approve those Asia v African games and the world x1 v Aus games in 2005 than surely these other games should also be approved.

[Wallaby]

It's difficult - on one hand you can say "who gives a stuff whether the ICC recognise it or not - it was good cricket, and whatever we say 30 years later is not going to change that one iota".
On the other hand, cricket is a game that has a very strong historical statistical background - records are an important of the game's heritage. If we let any old bod set up his own 'First-class' cricket rather than doing it under the control of the ICC and its national boards, you will have rich Indian millionaires putting up competitions purely to set records. (The sub-continent fans LOVE their records).
So you would get a dodgy game set up purely so that Tendulkar could score 750 in the first innings and 900 in the second, and get a couple of pages in Wisden.

[sherb]

YES they should and they also need to give approval to the World X1 games played in the 70s. It is absurd that Garfield Sobers innings of 254 for the world X1 v Australia at the M.C.G is not even included in his career stats, christ its probably the greatest innings ever played. If the ICC can approve those Asia v African games and the world x1 v Aus games in 2005 than surely these other games should also be approved.
The England v RoW games in 1970 and Australia v RoW games in 71-72 are both regarded as first-class, but not Test Matches.

I am with you, in my view they should be regarded as Test Matches, given the quality of the teams involved (look at what has passed for Test cricket in recent years involving Bangladesh and Zimbabwe for heaven`s sake).

The WSC Super Tests are not even regarded as first-class matches, which is absolutely ridiculous. (It is because first-class matches need to be deemed so by the controlling body in the host country* - which obviously the then Australian Cricket Board did not do).

At minimum the WSC Super Tests need to be afforded First-Class status, and I certainly wouldn`t be against them being deemed as Test Matches either. Again, compare them to some of the rubbish being dished up as Test Cricket these days.

I have seen it argued that these three series of matches shouldn`t be regarded as Test Matches because they fall outside the definition of a Test Match (ie basically country v country). That`s easy to fix - change the definition. :p

*I believe this is why the rebel tours to South Africa are regarded as First-Class (provided the matches meet the other criteria - minimum three days, etc). Despite the so-called rebel nature of the tours, the South African body afforded the matches First-Class status.

[LIONS then DAYLIGHT]

.... and yet you think people should care about what YOU say :)

Ian Chappell is one of the rare people in the media who have a balanced point of view and have the cricket knowledge to make it interesting. It's the fact that he knows what he's talking about that confuses people.

Getting BACK ON TOPIC, of course these figures should be included. All players who competed in this series claim it was by far the most difficult and competitive cricket they had ever played.

It's mind boggling to consider some of the games that have passed as 1st class cricket over the years, and yet WSC matches, the highest standard of cricket ever played, is not.


Ian Chappell only ever says stuff after the event with an "I told you so" mentality.

He may know a bit about the came but he is unable to put aside personal grudges in his work. He despises Bob Simpson, he cant let it slide that Ian Botham sent him flying in a bar 30 years back, and he personally attacks John Buchanan a year after he has retired, sorry, he may have been a good bat and he may know about the game but he reminds me of one of those people who always need to have the last word.

[Zemo]

Your not Ian Chappell are you?

Seriously, if i hear another person say "Ian Chappell wouldnt have done that" then i will lose the plot, if i haven't already, this series happened 30 years ago, its over, move on, this summer we will again at times have to listen to Chappell regurgitate stories that happened 30 years ago, it is time to move on.

Part of crickets problem is it is so stuck in the past, out of all Australian sports it is the one that has the biggest "they dont make them like they used" mentality among its ex players.

I dont care about what happened during a grade match in 1974 in Adelaide, or some World series Match 30 years ago.
Ian Chappell wouldnt have done that

[plugger]

To give you an idea just how tough World Series Cricket was, ie you're playing against the WSC West Indies side which might have Andy Roberts, Joel Garner, Michael Holding & Colin Croft in a SuperTest match, and when that's over you might have to play against WSC World XI which could have in their team Roberts, Garner, Mike Proctor & Holding in a one-day international. There was no way out-of-form batsmen in the Australian side in WSC could go back to Sheffield Shield and try to regain some form, when you're playing against fast bowlers of that calibre.

Absolutley correct..that was my point..and to think the batsmen wore no helmets...apart from Greigy

[Wallaby]

That was when helmets were just coming in - by the end of '78 they were all wearing them - except Viv.

There were some terrible injuries in the preceding couple of years - McCosker, Hookes, Chatfield. Bouncers were becoming far more prevalent.

[Jascave]

Ask any player who played in World Series Cricket during the two seasons from Greg & Ian Chappell, Dennis Lillee, Rod Marsh to Imran Khan, Tony Greig, Clive Lloyd, and they'll tell you it was the hardest, toughest and sometimes brutal cricket they played in during their careers. The cricket itself was-even though the ICC might not agree-possibly the highest standard seen during that period. At least give WSC credit to introduce things the ICC/ACB (Cricket Australia) would never have thought of doing in that period-coloured clothing; day/night cricket; better TV coverage; fielding circles for limited-overs matches; and, better pay for all cricketers in domestic & international cricket.