Howzat! Kerry Packer's War

A TV mini-series on the advent of World Series Cricket, the brainchild of media mogul Kerry Packer. Totally revolutionised cricket and dragged cricket into the professional era.

I'm a big cricket fan and my love for the game commenced in the early 70's just before the time-line of this dramatisation of the difficult birth of Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket venture, who sought to weaken the autocratic powers of the National Cricket Boards of the day and share more of the profits with the actual players themselves. Naturally, I'm sure that Packer was also in it for the bucks himself, although in this rather one-sided production, outside of his frequent volcanic temper eruptions, he's portrayed in almost a patrician light, bonding with his players, sympathising with the fans and above all loving the game itself.

What a pity that Kerry Packer was such an unlikeable bloke. He had the money to be able to step on anyone's toes to make a buck, and the bottom line of this show is that he does it again - doesn't matter who or how many are in the way.

HOWZAT! recounts the growth and development of World Series Cricket, helmed by Kerry Packer (Lachy Hulme), who signed up over fifty of the world's best players to play a series of "Super-Tests" in opposition to the established version of the game.