The first time I saw Australia play England in a Test at Perth, the Ashes weren’t at stake because the urn was gathering dust in a glass cabinet at Lord’s.
A three-Test series against England in the summer of 1979-80 was hastily cobbled together after Cricket Australia finally capitulated to media tycoon Kerry Packer and awarded him the rights to televise top matches on Channel Nine. In return, Packer agreed to disband the World Series Cricket (WSC), which had caused a significant rupture in the game. England agreed to play the series on two strict conditions: the Ashes weren’t up for grabs, and the team wouldn’t wear the coloured uniforms made famous during WSC.
