World Series Cricket (WSC) was a break away professional cricket competition staged between 1977 and 1979.

Formed by Australian business man Kerry Packer following the refusal of the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) to accept the bid of Packer's Channel Nine to gain exclusive television rights to Australia's Test matches, World Series Cricket involved matches between WSC Australia XI, WSC World XI and WSC West Indies. The teams included 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 and former Australian captain Ian Chappell.

The teams played five day "Supertests" and one day "International Cup" matches in Australia and the West Indies. The first WSC game, a Supertest between the Australians and the West Indians, began at VFL Park on 2 December 1977.

Sixteen Supertest five wicket hauls were by players from all three of the WSC teams. The first of these was by Greg Chappell on 1 January 1978. Dennis Lillee's seven wickets for twenty three runs (7/23) was the best bowling figures in World Series Cricket and Lillee also holds the record for most Supertest five wicket hauls with four.

Eight International Cup five wicket hauls were taken during World Series Cricket, with Andy Roberts claiming the first on 3 February 1978. No player took more than one five wicket haul and WSC World XI player Garth Le Roux returned the best figures with five wickets for six runs, against WSC Australia XI.

Key Date – Date the fifth wicket was taken. Inn – The innings of the match in which the five-wicket haul was taken. Overs – Number of overs bowled in that innings. * - Overs consisting of eight deliveries. Runs – Runs conceded. Wkts – Number of wickets taken. Batsmen – The batsmen whose wickets were taken in the five-wicket haul. Result – The result for the player's team in that match.

Supertest five wicket hauls No. Player Date For Against Inn Venue Overs Wkts Runs Batsmen Result 1 Greg Chappell 1 January 1978 Australia West Indies 2 Football Park, Adelaide 12* 5 20 RC Fredericks CG Greenidge LG Rowe CL King J GarnerWon 2 Max Walker 16 January 1978 Australia World XI 2 RAS Showground, Sydney 28.3* 7 88 CG Greenidge CH Lloyd AW Greig IVA Richards MJ Procter AME Roberts J GarnerLost 3 Andy Roberts 17 January 1978 World XI Australia 3 RAS Showground, Sydney 12* 6 69 BM Laird RS Langer IM Chapell GS Chappell RW Marsh GJ GilmourWon 4 Ray Bright 28 January 1978 Australia World XI 1 Gloucester Park, Perth 31.3* 5 149 BA Richards Imran Khan APE Knott CG Greenidge WW DanielLost 5 Joel Garner 12 February 1978 World XI Australia 3 VFL Park, Melbourne 14.7* 5 52 IC Davis GS Chappell R Edwards DW Hookes MHN WalkerLost 6 Dennis Lillee 13 February 1978 Australia World XI 4 VFL Park, Melbourne 15* 5 82 BA Richards IVA Richards AW Greig Imran Khan J GarnerWon 7 Max Walker 13 February 1978 Australia World XI 4 VFL Park, Melbourne 14* 5 62 CG Greenidge Zaheer Abbas AME Roberts Asif Iqbal WW DanielWon 8 Dennis Lillee 5 November 1978 Australia World XI 2 Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland 18 7 59 BA Richards DL Amiss AW Greig APE Knott BD Julien JA Snow AL PadmoreWon 9 Richard Hadlee 5 November 1978 World XI Australia 3 Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland 15 5 26 IC Davis IM Chapell DW Hookes RB McCosker GJ GilmourLost 10 Dennis Lillee 6 November 1978 Australia World XI 4 Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland 14 5 30 DL Amiss RA Woolmer CEB Rice CL King RJ HadleeWon 11 Garth Le Roux 9 December 1978 World XI Australia 2 VFL Park, Melbourne 25.5 5 39 BM Laird RJ Bright DW Hookes IM Chappell DK LilleeWon 12 Ray Bright 21 January 1979 Australia West Indies 1 SCG, Sydney 23 6 52 CG Greenisge IVA Richards LG Rowe JC Allen DL Murray AL PadmoreWon 13 Colin Croft 23 January 1979 West Indies Australia 2 SCG, Sydney 26 5 65 KC Wessels GS Chappell IM Chappell DW Hookes RW MarshLost 14 Dennis Lillee 24 January 1979 Australia West Indies 3 SCG, Sydney 14 7 23 RA Austin CG Greenidge JC Allen LG Rowe IVA Richards DL Murray WW DanielWon 15 Garth Le Roux 2 February 1979 World XI Australia 1 SCG, Sydney 18.4 5 57 BM Laird IM Chppell MF Kent RW Marsh LS PascoeWon 16 Dennis Lillee 3 February 1979 Australia World XI 2 SCG, Sydney 18.5 5 51 EJ Barlow MJ Procter AW Greig Imran Khan DL UnderwoodLost 17 Michael Holding 16 March 1979 West Indies Australia 1 Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain 21 5 48 IM Chappell GS Chappell DW Hookes TM Chappell RJ BrightLost 18 Jeff Thomson 18 March 1979 Australia West Indies 2 Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain 20 5 78 RC Fredericks LG Rowe IVA Richards CH Lloyd MA HoldingWon 19 Dennis Lillee 9 April 1979 Australia West Indies 2 Antigua Recreation Ground, St John's 33.2 6 125 DL Haynes RC Fredericks IVA Richards CH Lloyd LG Rowe MA HoldingWon

International Cup five wicket hauls

No. Player Date For Against Inn Venue Overs Wkts Runs Batsmen Result 1 Andy Roberts 3 February 1978 West Indies World XI 2 RAS Showground, Sydney 8* 5 17 DL Amiss RA Woolmer Majid Khan Asif Iqbal BA RichardsWon 2 Wayne Daniel 5 February 1978 West Indies Australia 2 RAS Showground, Sydney 5.7* 5 29 IC Davis RW Marsh GJ Gilmour DK Lillee LS PascoeWon 3 Greg Chappell 28 November 1978 Australia West Indies 1 Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney 9.3 5 19 LG Rowe JC Allen BD Julien DL Murray J GarnerWon 4 Len Pascoe 18 December 1978 Australia World XI 2 VFL Park, Melbourne 10 5 30 Zaheer Abbas BA Richards Javed Miandad MJ Procter Asif IqbalWon 5 Garth Le Roux 1 January 1979 World XI Australia 1 Brisbane Cricket Ground, Brisbane 6.1 5 6 GS Chappell IR Redpath TM Chappell MF Malone W PriorWon 6 Max Walker 9 January 1979 Australia West Indies 2 VFL Park, Melbourne 10 5 23 JC Allen IBD Julien DL Murray AME Roberts MA HoldingWon 7 Jeff Thomson 21 February 1979 Australia West Indies 1 Sabina Park, Kingston 7.3 5 31 CL King DL Murray MA Holding J Garner WW DanielWon 8 Colin Croft 4 April 1979 West Indies Australia 1 Windsor Park, Roseau 9 5 21 BM Laird MF Kent IM Chappell RJ Bright MF MaloneWon

See also

List of World Series Cricket international centuries

References