Kerry Packer

Kerry Packer, the man responsible for World Series Cricket and the explosion of the one-day game, died in Sydney aged 68. Packer, a media mogul billionaire, was behind the damaging split from the Australian Cricket Board in the late 1970s in a fight over television broadcasting rights and when peace was achieved his Channel 9 coverage led the way in innovation.

In the 1980s Packer was also influential in preventing players from taking part in rebel tours to South Africa and he signed up young players such as Steve Waugh on lucrative contracts with his company PBL. Shane Warne was another on his books until he was sacked in 2004 for his off-field indiscretions.

Packer, who had a kidney transplant in 2000, had a history of serious illnesses and suffered severe health problems over the past couple of years. A statement from Channel 9 said he died "peacefully at home with his family at his bedside" on Boxing Day, 2005.