The World Series Cricket Cavaliers XI was a cricket team formed to play in World Series Cricket. Taking the International Cavaliers as its inspiration, the team was envisaged as a way of giving those players under contract to the WSC organisation, but not picked regularly for one of the three main teams (Australia, the West Indies and the World XI) regular match play and opportunities to win prize money.
The team was formed in 1978, before the start of the second season of World Series Cricket, with a tour of Australia scheduled to take place at the same time as the main competition. This would see the Cavaliers play each of the other three WSC teams at a range of smaller venues around Australia between November 1978 and February 1979.
Cavaliers Country Tour 1978/79 Following the end of the 1977/78 World Series Cricket season, Kerry Packer's organisation signed up a second tranche of players to participate in the series. The consequence of this was that there were invariably more players available than there were places in the three WSC teams. To compensate for those players who were not being selected regularly, a new side was formed in 1978 that would undertake a tour of Australia. The plan was for this new side, which came to be called the "Cavaliers XI", to take on each of the other three WSC teams in turn in a series of both one-day and two-day games. The schedule would see whichever of the three teams was not playing either a Supertest or an International Cup game taking on Cavaliers. This ensured not only that the "fringe" players got both match practice and access to prize money on offer by playing for the Cavaliers, but also that the other teams were also able to continue playing during "downtime" periods when they were not in the main WSC schedule. Many were either recently retired cricketers or younger "up-and-coming" players. It had the further effect of bringing World Series Cricket to a number of smaller venues around the country, rather than restricting it to playing in the major cities. The Country Tour for Cavaliers eventually encompassed a total of 9 two-day games and 15 one-day games. These were scheduled in four separate blocks. The first three games were all one-day, with each scheduled against one of the other WSC teams and played in Western Australia. This was followed by a two-week tour of Queensland against West Indies, then another two-week tour of Victoria and New South Wales (NSW) against Australia, with a final three-week stint against World XI, again in Victoria and NSW. The final game saw Cavaliers take on West Indies in a two-day game in Tasmania.
Cavaliers overall record TeamPldWLDANR Australia512110 West Indies935100 World XI1017101
Cavaliers v Australia Dates(s)Team 1ScoreTeam 2ScoreResultVenue24 Nov 1978 Australia Cavaliers Match AbandonedRecreation Reserve, Bunbury, Western Australia17 Dec 1978 Australia174/8 Cavaliers 93 Australia XI won by 81 runsSports Ground, Maitland, New South Wales23 Dec 1978 Australia183/7 Cavaliers 85Australia XI won by 98 runsShowgrounds, Traralgon, Victoria24 Dec 1978 Cavaliers 172/6 Australia100Cavaliers won by 72 runsFootball Ground, Morwell, Victoria3-4 Jan 1979 Cavaliers 195106/5 dec. Australia104162/4Match DrawnOakes Oval, Lismore, New South Wales
WSC Cavaliers v WSC West Indies Dates(s)Team 1ScoreTeam 2ScoreResultVenue23 Nov 1978 Cavaliers 224/6 West Indies225/5West Indies won by 5 wicketsSir Richard Moore Sports Centre, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia1-2 Dec 1978 West Indies21484 Cavaliers 216/9 dec.86/3Cavaliers won by 7 wicketsBarlow Park, Cairns, Queensland3-4 Dec 1978 West Indies214112/4 Cavaliers 131Match DrawnEndeavour Park, Townsville, Queensland6 Dec 1978 Cavaliers 213 West Indies216/3West Indies won by 7 wicketsRay Mitchell Oval, Mackay, Queensland8-9 Dec 1978 Cavaliers 339/9 West Indies290/5West Indies won by faster run rateAssociation Ground, Rockhampton, Queensland10 Dec 1978 West Indies194/9 Cavaliers 125West Indies won by 69 runsQueensland Almunia Sports Club Oval, Gladstone, Queensland12 Dec 1978 West Indies214/3 Cavaliers 173West Indies won by 41 runsSalk Oval, Currumbin, Queensland13 Dec 1978 West Indies173 Cavaliers 113/8Cavaliers won by faster run rateGold Park, Toowoomba, Queensland3-4 Feb 1979 Cavaliers 78208/5 dec. West Indies112140Cavaliers won by 31 runsGirdlestone Park, Devonport, Tasmania
WSC Cavaliers v World XI Dates(s)Team 1ScoreTeam 2ScoreResultVenue25 Nov 1978 Cavaliers 181/8 World XI185/7World XI won by 3 wicketsRecreation Reserve, Bunbury, Western Australia26 Dec 1978 Cavaliers 113 World XI10/1No ResultNo. 1 Sports Ground, Newcastle, New South Wales7 Jan 1979 World XI261/6 Cavaliers 167World XI won by 94 runsMildura City Oval, Mildura, Victoria10-11 Jan 1979 Cavaliers 326/6 World XI329/7World XI win by 3 wicketsQueen Elizabeth II Oval, Bendigo, Victoria13-14 Jan 1979 Cavaliers 14097 World XI343World XI won by an innings and 106 runsNo. 1 Oval, Tamworth, New South Wales17 Jan 1979 Cavaliers 132 World XI135/4World XI won by 6 wicketsMoran Oval, Armidale, New South Wales20-21 Jan 1979 World XI170 Cavaliers 219/2Match DrawnWade Park, Orange, New South Wales24 Jan 1979 World XI167 Cavaliers 168/0Cavaliers won by 10 wicketsRobertson Oval, Wagga Wagga, New South Wales27-28 Jan 1979 Cavaliers 323/7 World XI324/7World XI won by 3 wicketsAlbury Sports Ground, Albury, New South Wales29 Jan 1979 Cavaliers 158/9 World XI160/6World XI won by 4 wicketsMelville Oval, Hamilton, Victoria
See also World Series Cricket results World Series Cricket player records WSC Australia XI WSC West Indies XI WSC World XI
References
External links Cavaliers Country Tour 1978/79 - ESPN Cricinfo