KERRY PACKER, the Australian media tycoon whose World Series Cricket circus changed the face of the sport for ever, died last night after years of ill health. He was 68.

Mr Packer, whose legendary business acumen, love of sport and passion for gambling made him Australia’s richest man, owned Australia’s Nine television network, a huge magazine empire and the Crown Casino in Melbourne. He had many other gambling, media and property interests, and was said to be worth about £3 billion.

Outside his homeland, Mr Packer will be best remembered as the pioneer whose World Series Cricket in 1977 stunned the sport’s establishment and heralded a new dawn in which players were able to command vastly increased fees.

In one of the most audacious sports coups in history, Mr Packer secretly signed up Tony Greig, the England captain, and his Australian counterpart, Greg Chappell, as well as many other highly regarded players, and then went on to field his own teams in his own stadiums.

The move convulsed the sporting establishment and ultimately allowed him to wrest television rights to the game from the Australian Cricket Board. His World Series venture eventually came to a halt after the game’s authorities persuaded enough top players to return to the fold, but only after the mould had been broken and cricket had been put on a path towards greater popularity and success.

Early this morning the Australian and South African teams observed a minute’s silence before the start of play in the second Test to mark Mr Packer’s passing.

Creagh O’Connor, the head of the game’s governing body in Australia, paid a glowing tribute. “Kerry Packer stood alongside the late Sir Donald Bradman as one of the giants who have influenced the shape of Australian cricket,” he said. “The so-called Packer Revolution of the 1970s has left a lasting legacy in the way the game is played, administered and presented to the public. One-day cricket is now an international phenomenon as a result of Packer.”

A huge man with an irreverent personality, Mr Packer was feared and respected by his staff, politicians and other businessmen. He enjoyed the company of prime ministers and princes, though he increasingly shunned the limelight as his health deteriorated.

In l990 he suffered a massive heart attack while playing his favourite sport, polo. His heart stopped beating for six minutes, until he was revived by ambulance officers. After the experience he famously told an interviewer on his own television station that he had been “to the other side and there was nothing there”.

As a businessman his timing was always perfect. In l987 he sold his television network to the Western Australian businessman Alan Bond for a billion Australian dollars, only to buy it back several years later for 200 million. In the same year he fortuitously sold out of the stock market only weeks before the famous Black Friday crash in October.

Mr Packer inherited the media empire founded by his grandfather, Robert, and developed by his father, Sir Frank, who launched the Australian Women’s Weekly magazine in l933. The success of the magazine financed further acquisitions and became the cornerstone of what became Publishing and Broadcasting (PBL), which is listed on the Australian stock exchange.

More recently, in partnership with Damian Aspinall, Packer had been planning to build supercasinos in Britain. His other interests in Britain include Challenger Financial Services, Wales and West Utilities, the gas distribution business for the region, and Arqiva, a broadcasting company that owns about a half of Britain’s big transmission towers.

A SPORTING LIFE

1937 Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer born on December 17 in Australia

1972 He and his brother Clyde persuade their father to sell Sydney’s Telegraph newspapers to Rupert Murdoch

1974 Takes over the running of the family company, Publishing and Broadcasting Limited, including the Nine television network

1977 Sets up World Series Cricket, attracting top players including the England captain Tony Greig

1991 Tries to buy the Fairfax newspaper group, but met resistance from the Australian parliament

2004 Announces a joint venture agreement with Betfair, the British online betting exchange, enabling the British company to operate in Australia

2005 His wealth is estimated at AU$6.9 billion (£2.9 billion), making him the richest man in Australia and the 94th richest man in the world

2006 In partnership with Damian Aspinall, Packer was planning to build between 12 and 16 supercasinos in Britain, taking advantage of the recent liberalisation of gambling laws. Their joint venture, Aspers, is one of three companies in the running to build a £150 million supercasino and hotel complex in Middlesbrough

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