Louisa Wall: Super Series money-spinner for ICC

Some commentators are saying that the International Cricket Council's Super Series has been a flop but what defines success?

Would the Super Series have been successful to date if the Aussies had been beaten in the one-dayers? Probably, so what's the problem?

That has nothing to do with the concept, although the crowds were well down at the Melbourne Telstra Dome, which was half-full in all three matches, but that is probably because all three matches were played in the same city.

However, I agree with many commentators that the personnel in the World team were not picked on form and that they were missing a few faces, namely Stephen Fleming, and included players who may be icons of the sport but whose performance was well below par - namely Brian Lara.

This series was touted as the game's brave new world, but by some assessments it was a contrived game stuffed with hype, stacked with cash and staged for television - with the crowd staying away in droves.

This Super Series took us back to the days of the Kerry Packer circus. Packer's vision was for a new World Series Cricket competition with coloured uniforms, white balls, batting and fielding restrictions, day/night games under lights and, best of all, the fans got a result before leaving the ground.

The English cricket purists were outraged at the concept and called it a "stupid pyjama game". But Packer's goal was to satisfy both his television interests and the monetary requirements of the players.

Fifty of the world's leading players signed and Packer defiantly declared: "Cricket is going to get revolutionised whether [the establishment] like it or not".

The modern Super Series is such an attempt of revolution whether the public like it or not, for the International Cricket Council to generate more revenue and to further professionalise the sport on the back of the champion Australians.

The ICC owns the game and to counter any bid by arriviste entrepreneurs to complement the World Cup and the Champions Trophy, it conferred official status on the Super Series.

After the Australians' loss of the Ashes test series to England, Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting was adamant that they had a lot to prove so the Super Series was a wonderful platform to get the team back on track.

And so they are. The Super test to be played in Sydney could provide the icing on the cake for an Aussie team who have been from the depths of despair to the ecstasy of success in one home series.

It is interesting to see the winners of the ICC players' awards this week.

The Test Player of the Year was Jacques Kallis. My pick was Shane Warne.

ODI Player of the Year was Kevin Pietersen. My pick was Andrew Flintoff.

And the Player of the Year was Flintoff. My pick was Adam Gilchrist - the only person to be nominated in all three categories.

So, the best of the best in cricket terms reside in the World team.

Let's hope this translates to their collective performance on the pitch at Sydney.

* Louisa Wall is a former New Zealand netball and rugby representative.