Cavaliers XI Country Tour 1978/79
Following the end of the 1977/78 World Series Cricket season, Kerry Packer's organisation signed up a second tranche of players to participate in the series. The consequence of this was that there were invariably more players available than there were places in the three WSC teams. To compensate for those players who were not being selected regularly, a new side was formed in 1978 that would undertake a tour of Australia. The plan was for this new side, which came to be called the "Cavaliers XI", to take on each of the other three WSC teams in turn in a series of both one-day and two-day games. The schedule would see whichever of the three teams was not playing either a Supertest or an International Cup game taking on Cavaliers XI. This ensured not only that the "fringe" players got both match practice and access to prize money on offer by playing for the Cavaliers, but also that the other teams were also able to continue playing during "downtime" periods when they were not in the main WSC schedule. It had the further effect of bringing World Series Cricket to a number of smaller venues around the country, rather than restricting it to playing in the major cities.
The Country Tour for Cavaliers XI eventually encompassed a total of 9 two-day games and 15 one-day games. These were scheduled in four separate blocks. The first three games were all one-day, with each scheduled against one of the other WSC teams and played in Western Australia. This was followed by a two-week tour of Queensland against West Indies XI, then another two-week tour of Victoria and New South Wales (NSW) against Australia, with a final three-week stint against Rest Of The World XI, again in Victoria and NSW. The final game saw Cavaliers XI take on West Indies XI in a two-day game in Tasmania.
Cavaliers XI overall record
Cavaliers XI v Australia XI
| Dates(s) | Team 1 | Score | Team 2 | Score | Result | Venue |
|---|
| 24 Nov 1978 |  Australia XI | |  Cavaliers XI | | Match Abandoned | Recreation Reserve, Bunbury, Western Australia |
| 17 Dec 1978 | Australia XI | 174/8 | Cavaliers XI | 93 | Australia XI won by 81 runs | Sports Ground, Maitland, New South Wales |
| 23 Dec 1978 | Australia XI | 183/7 | Cavaliers XI | 85 | Australia XI won by 98 runs | Showgrounds, Traralgon, Victoria |
| 24 Dec 1978 | Cavaliers XI | 172/6 | Australia XI | 100 | Cavaliers XI won by 72 runs | Football Ground, Morwell, Victoria |
| 3-4 Jan 1979 | Cavaliers XI | 195
106/5 dec. | Australia XI | 104
162/4 | Match Drawn | Oakes Oval, Lismore, New South Wales |
WSC Cavaliers XI v WSC West Indies XI
| Dates(s) | Team 1 | Score | Team 2 | Score | Result | Venue |
|---|
| 23 Nov 1978 | Cavaliers XI | 224/6 |  West Indies XI | 225/5 | West Indies XI won by 5 wickets | Sir Richard Moore Sports Centre, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia |
| 1-2 Dec 1978 | West Indies XI | 214
84 | Cavaliers XI | 216/9 dec.
86/3 | Cavaliers XI won by 7 wickets | Barlow Park, Cairns, Queensland |
| 3-4 Dec 1978 | West Indies XI | 214
112/4 | Cavaliers XI | 131 | Match Drawn | Endeavour Park, Townsville, Queensland |
| 6 Dec 1978 | Cavaliers XI | 213 | West Indies XI | 216/3 | West Indies XI won by 7 wickets | Ray Mitchell Oval, Mackay, Queensland |
| 8-9 Dec 1978 | Cavaliers XI | 339/9 | West Indies XI | 290/5 | West Indies XI won by faster run rate | Association Ground, Rockhampton, Queensland |
| 10 Dec 1978 | West Indies XI | 194/9 | Cavaliers XI | 125 | West Indies XI won by 69 runs | Queensland Almunia Sports Club Oval, Gladstone, Queensland |
| 12 Dec 1978 | West Indies XI | 214/3 | Cavaliers XI | 173 | West Indies XI won by 41 runs | Salk Oval, Currumbin, Queensland |
| 13 Dec 1978 | West Indies XI | 173 | Cavaliers XI | 113/8 | Cavaliers XI won by faster run rate | Gold Park, Toowoomba, Queensland |
| 3-4 Feb 1979 | Cavaliers XI | 78
208/5 dec. | West Indies | 112
140 | Cavaliers XI won by 31 runs | Girdlestone Park, Devonport, Tasmania |
WSC Cavaliers XI v WSC Rest Of The World XI
| Dates(s) | Team 1 | Score | Team 2 | Score | Result | Venue |
|---|
| 25 Nov 1978 | Cavaliers XI | 181/8 |  Rest Of The World XI | 185/7 | Rest Of The World XI won by 3 wickets | Recreation Reserve, Bunbury, Western Australia |
| 26 Dec 1978 | Cavaliers XI | 113 | Rest Of The World XI | 10/1 | No Result | No. 1 Sports Ground, Newcastle, New South Wales |
| 7 Jan 1979 | Rest Of The World XI | 261/6 | Cavaliers XI | 167 | Rest Of The World XI won by 94 runs | Mildura City Oval, Mildura, Victoria |
| 10-11 Jan 1979 | Cavaliers XI | 326/6 | Rest Of The World XI | 329/7 | Rest Of The World XI win by 3 wickets | Queen Elizabeth II Oval, Bendigo, Victoria |
| 13-14 Jan 1979 | Cavaliers XI | 140
97 | Rest Of The World XI | 343 | Rest Of The World XI won by an innings and 106 runs | No. 1 Oval, Tamworth, New South Wales |
| 17 Jan 1979 | Cavaliers XI | 132 | Rest Of The World XI | 135/4 | Rest Of The World XI won by 6 wickets | Moran Oval, Armidale, New South Wales |
| 20-21 Jan 1979 | Rest Of The World XI | 170 | Cavaliers XI | 219/2 | Match Drawn | Wade Park, Orange, New South Wales |
| 24 Jan 1979 | Rest Of The World XI | 167 | Cavaliers XI | 168/0 | Cavaliers XI won by 10 wickets | Robertson Oval, Wagga Wagga, New South Wales |
| 27-28 Jan 1979 | Cavaliers XI | 323/7 | Rest Of The World XI | 324/7 | Rest Of The World XI won by 3 wickets | Albury Sports Ground, Albury, New South Wales |
| 29 Jan 1979 | Cavaliers XI | 158/9 | Rest Of The World XI | 160/6 | Rest Of The World XI won by 4 wickets | Melville Oval, Hamilton, Victoria |
Ian Michael Chappell is a former cricketer who played for South Australia and Australia. He captained Australia between 1971 and 1975 before taking a central role in the breakaway World Series Cricket organisation. Born into a cricketing family—his grandfather and brother also captained Australia—Chappell made a hesitant start to international cricket playing as a right-hand middle-order batsman and spin bowler. He found his niche when promoted to bat at number three. Known as "Chappelli", he earned a reputation as one of the greatest captains the game has seen. Chappell's blunt verbal manner led to a series of confrontations with opposition players and cricket administrators; the issue of sledging first arose during his tenure as captain, and he was a driving force behind the professionalisation of Australian cricket in the 1970s. He was the captain of the Australian squad which finished as runners-up at the 1975 Cricket World Cup.
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 the nature of cricket, and its influence continues to be felt today.
Trevor Martin Chappell is a former Australian cricketer, a member of the South Australian Chappell family which excelled at cricket. He played 3 tests and 20 One Day Internationals for Australia. He won the Sheffield Shield with New South Wales twice, and scored a century for Australia against India in the 1983 World Cup. His career was overshadowed, however, by an incident in 1981 in which he bowled an underarm delivery to New Zealand cricketer Brian McKechnie to prevent the batsman from hitting a six.
Dennis Keith Lillee, is a retired Australian cricketer rated as the "outstanding fast bowler of his generation". Lillee formed a new ball partnership with Jeff Thomson which is recognised as one of the greatest bowling pairs of all time.
Kepler Christoffel Wessels 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.
Raymond James Bright is a former Australian Test and One Day International cricketer from Victoria. He was a left arm spin bowler and right handed lower order batsman who captained Victoria for a number of seasons. He was also an Australian vice-captain.
Bruce Malcolm Laird is a former Western Australian and Australian cricketer. He was an opening batsmen who played in 21 Test matches and 23 One Day Internationals. He also played 13 "Supertests" in World Series Cricket. He was a part of the Australian squad which finished as runners-up at the 1975 Cricket World Cup.
Gary John Gilmour was an Australian cricketer who played in 15 test matches and five One Day Internationals (ODIs) between 1973 and 1977. He was a part of the Australian squad which finished as runners-up at the 1975 Cricket World Cup.
Martin Francis Kent is a former Australian cricketer who played in three Test matches and five One Day Internationals in 1981.
Every player to appear in Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket is listed below along with their appearance records.
Four teams would take part in the various World Series Cricket competitions, Australia XI, Cavaliers XI, West Indies XI, World XI.
World Series Cricket results are the results of the main games played in the now defunct World Series Cricket (WSC) competition. World Series Cricket was a break away professional cricket competition staged between 1977 and 1979, organized by Kerry Packer for his Australian television network, the Nine Network. The matches ran in opposition to established international cricket. World Series Cricket drastically changed the nature of cricket, and its influence continues to be felt today.The intention for creating World Series Cricket is not to offer the media and broadcasting rights by the Australian cricket board to him and after few years when board agreed to give broadcast rights to kerry packers then he no more interested to run the world series cricket and this how IPL started in India with the same thought and mindset.
The World Series Cricket Australia XI was a cricket team representing Australia in World Series Cricket (WSC). Their first game was against the WSC West Indies in 1977. World Series Cricket ended in 1979 after the Australian XI tour to the West Indies. The side was made up of current Australian international cricketers and some recently retired former Test players. The side was captained by Ian Chappell who had recently retired from first-class and international cricket, but returned to captain the side.
The World Series Cricket West Indies XI was a cricket team representing West Indies in World Series Cricket (WSC). Their first game was against the Australia XI in 1977. World Series Cricket ended in 1979 after the Australian XI tour to the West Indies. The side was composed of current West Indian international cricketers, except for Jim Allen, the only squad member not to play Test cricket. During WSC many of the West Indian squad also played against the official Australian touring side, that did not feature WSC cricketers. Against in effect a second string Australia West Indies won the first two tests convincingly. Only Alvin Kallicharran and Derick Parry played who were not signed to WSC. However, when the WSC cricketers were unavailable from the third test, the contests were more even. Australia won the third test, West Indies the fourth, while the fifth was drawn.
The World Series Cricket Rest Of The World XI was a cricket team representing the Rest of the World in World Series Cricket (WSC). Their first game was against the Australia XI in 1978. World Series Cricket ended in 1979 after the Australia XI tour to West Indies. The side was captained by former England captain Tony Greig, who was assigned to recruit his teammates. Greig's former England teammates Derek Underwood, Dennis Amiss, John Snow and star wicketkeeper Alan Knott were signed along with many players from Pakistan, including national icon Imran Khan. Rest Of The World XI also offered competitive international class cricket to players from South Africa, who were then barred from international cricket, such as Barry Richards, Garth Le Roux and Mike Procter.
The World Series Cricket tour of the West Indies took place between February and April 1979. It was the second tour event of World Series Cricket after the World XI New Zealand tour earlier in the season. It was the first tour to feature the WSC West Indies and WSC Supertests. The five match Supertest series was drawn 1–1. It ran in parallel with the ODI series which the West Indies won easily, 8–2.
The Australian cricket team toured the West Indies in the 1977–78 season to play a five-match Test series against the West Indies. The tour also encompassed a pair of One Day Internationals, plus six tour matches against the West Indies' first class sides.
In 1978, prior to the start of the second season of World Series Cricket, the WSC Australia XI and WSC World XI teams embarked on a brief tour of New Zealand, the first time that WSC teams had played outside Australia. A four-day game played in Auckland was to be followed by a three-day single innings game and a total of six one day games between the two sides over a 16-day period. The abandonment of the third one-day game led to the scheduling of an additional game at the same venue later in the tour. The planned three-day game became a pair of one-day games after the first day was washed out, which led to a final total of nine one-day games on the schedule.
In late 1977, the new World Series Cricket competition began in Australia between three teams playing both multi-day and one day games. The first set of these fixtures to be played was a three match series between the Australian team and the West Indies team, starting at the beginning of December.
Eddie Barlow 
