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Rod Marsh's cap

Rod Marsh's cap

This One-Day International cricket cap was worn by Australian wicketkeeper Rod Marsh during the 1982 season. One-Day Internationals, in which each side plays 50 overs, emerged from the World Series Cricket competition.

A colour photograph of a bright yellow cricketer's cap. The cap has its peak closest to the camera. The Australian Coat of Arms is stitched on the front of the cap. The kangaroo and emu in the Coat of Arms have been stitched in green. The shield in the middle has been stitched in green, red, dark blue, light blue and yellow. The scroll under the shield in which 'Australia' appears has been stitched in red with a green border and yellow lettering. The cap has been photographed against a white background. It casts a shadow against this background.


Rod Marsh's one-day cap from 1982 is a traditional English style cricket cap which has a closer fitted crown than the Australian 'baggy green'. Photo: George Serras.

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A colour photograph of a male cricketer wearing a white t-shirt. He is seen from about the hips up in the photo. The t-shirt has text on it, which reads 'Howzat! I bat for the World Series'. The t-shirt also has on it a stylized logo of a cricket ball over three stumps. The cricketer wears a small cricket bat pendant on a chain around his neck. He has a moustace, dark curly hair and stubble on his face. In the background is a two-storey building.

 

In 1977, businessman Kerry Packer sought to buy exclusive rights to broadcast Test cricket on his Nine Network. The Australian Cricket Board turned him down so Packer created an alternative cricket competition that he could televise — World Series Cricket.

Sixty-six of the world's best players signed contracts to play in the new competition.

For many it was an opportunity earn a decent living from cricket, but there was also a price to pay. Australians who signed, such as Greg and Ian Chappell, Dennis Lillee and Rod Marsh, were banned from playing Test and first-class cricket.


Left: Dennis Lillee supports the World Series Cricket brand. Courtesy: Adrian Murrell, Getty Images.

 

By its second season World Series Cricket was so successful that the Australian Cricket Board was forced to negotiate with Packer. The Nine Network won the exclusive television rights, and a new integrated competition copied the World Series Cricket format. A regular cricket season now included a Test series between three international teams and a triangular one-day tournament.


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