Sideline Sid Sports correspondant & historian www.sunlive.co.nz

Sideline Sid can't wait for the two Northern Knights HRV Cup T20 games to hit the Bay Oval on January 2 and 4, 2014.

On January 2, our Bay team squares off against the Canterbury Wizards, while on January 4 the Wellington Firebirds arrive at the Bay Oval to go to battle.

T20 Cricket is the new face of the game in the new millennium, with big sixes and diving catches, entrancing crowds during three hours of non-stop action. Thousands of cricket fans will flock to the Bay Oval to watch their favorites in the hurly burly holiday season.

While some of the best cricket players in the country will be on show at the two Bay of Plenty HRV Cup games – one day in November 1978, a myriad of the best cricket stars in the world stopped off in Tauranga for a game.

In 1976, after the Australian Cricket Board refused to accept Channel Nine's bid to gain exclusive television rights to Australian test matches, Network Nine's Kerry Packer set up his own series by secretly signing a number of the best players in the world, and, in so doing, turned the cricket world on its head.

World Series Cricket became a reality because of two main factors: the widespread view players were not being paid enough money to make a living from cricket; and the inability of Packer to secure the exclusive rights to screen test cricket.The matches, which ran in direct opposition to the established international cricket matches, changed the face of cricket. The WSC was the start of the professional era as we know it today.

Never before had such a galaxy of world stars appeared in Tauranga. The WSC Australian team featured household names Dennis Lillee, Greg Chappell, Ian Chappell, David Hookes and Rod Marsh. Tony Greig led the WSC World X1, with stars Barry Richards, Lawrence Rowe, Michael Procter, John Snow and New Zealand's own superstar Richard Hadlee.

Fifty six-ball overs per side were played, which was another innovation in the days of eight ball overs. The charges of the day make for interesting reading, only costing $4 for adults and $1 for children.

There is an interesting story about how Tauranga became one of the three New Zealand venues for what was often referred to as the World Series Circus. The Tauranga netball and tennis organisations, which were searching for funding for the (then) new pavilion at the Cliff Rd courts, approached a professional fundraiser. The fundraiser, who was also a promoter of the WSC tour of New Zealand, suggested the match be a fundraising venture. This is how the WSC came to what was then one of the country's smaller cities.

For the record, the WSC World XI batted first and was bowled out for 178. Western Indies batsmen Lawrence Rowe top scored with 52, with Dennis Lillee taking three wickets. The WSC Australian XI were rolled for 94, calling the pitch sub-standard, with our own Richard Hadlee taking three wickets along with Derek Underwood.

In Western Bay Cricket news, Cadets and Mount Maunganui won through the round robin section of the Baywide Cup and will be in the title decider in two weeks' time.

Seeya at the HRV Cup Games.