<p>Former England captain Tony Greig, one of the architects of cricket's World Series revolution in the 1970s and a forceful commentator on the game, died at the age of 66 after suffering a heart attack at his Sydney home on Saturday.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Greig, who was diagnosed with lung cancer in October, was admitted to hospital in Sydney, but died soon after.<br /><br />A larger-than-life figure standing 6ft 6in (1.98 metres), South Africa-born Greig was a fine all-rounder who played 58 Tests for England from 1972-77, scoring 3,599 runs at 40.43, including eight centuries, and claiming 141 wickets at 32.20 each. He was also a brilliant slip fielder, taking 87 catches in Test matches.<br /><br />Greig had a love-hate relationship with India, drawing a lot of fans with his no-holds-barred take on the game during his commentary stint with Australia’s Channel 9. <br /><br />However, he became a bitter critic of the Board of Control for Cricket in India in later years, for the influence it had on the international game and also on the decision review system. He was also firmly against the move to promote T20 game at the cost of Test cricket.<br /><br />“India is pre-occupied with money and T20 and sees its IPL and CLT20 more important than international calendar. To compound the problems, India has not only sold part of game to private interests but some of her administrators are seen to have a conflict of interest, which makes it more difficult for it to act in the spirit of the game,” Greig said in June this year, delivering the MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture at Lord’s.<br /><br />As a player, Greig could bowl at either a lively medium-pace or, on occasion, employ quickish off-spin, using his height and bounce in the latter style to take 13 wickets and win a Test match in the Caribbean. The best performance of Greig’s captaincy career came in 1976-77, when England toured India for a five-Test series.<br /><br />The team had not won there for 15 years but went on to score one of their most convincing triumphs when they clinched the first three Tests by huge margins.<br /><br />Greig's biggest impact on the game came after he joined forces in 1977 with the late Australian businessman Kerry Packer to set up the breakaway World Series Cricket competition. Media magnate Packer's concept, aimed at securing cricket broadcast rights for his Channel Nine, shook up the game's world order by pioneering limited overs matches played at night and turning cricketers into full-time professionals.<br /></p>
<p>Former England captain Tony Greig, one of the architects of cricket's World Series revolution in the 1970s and a forceful commentator on the game, died at the age of 66 after suffering a heart attack at his Sydney home on Saturday.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Greig, who was diagnosed with lung cancer in October, was admitted to hospital in Sydney, but died soon after.<br /><br />A larger-than-life figure standing 6ft 6in (1.98 metres), South Africa-born Greig was a fine all-rounder who played 58 Tests for England from 1972-77, scoring 3,599 runs at 40.43, including eight centuries, and claiming 141 wickets at 32.20 each. He was also a brilliant slip fielder, taking 87 catches in Test matches.<br /><br />Greig had a love-hate relationship with India, drawing a lot of fans with his no-holds-barred take on the game during his commentary stint with Australia’s Channel 9. <br /><br />However, he became a bitter critic of the Board of Control for Cricket in India in later years, for the influence it had on the international game and also on the decision review system. He was also firmly against the move to promote T20 game at the cost of Test cricket.<br /><br />“India is pre-occupied with money and T20 and sees its IPL and CLT20 more important than international calendar. To compound the problems, India has not only sold part of game to private interests but some of her administrators are seen to have a conflict of interest, which makes it more difficult for it to act in the spirit of the game,” Greig said in June this year, delivering the MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture at Lord’s.<br /><br />As a player, Greig could bowl at either a lively medium-pace or, on occasion, employ quickish off-spin, using his height and bounce in the latter style to take 13 wickets and win a Test match in the Caribbean. The best performance of Greig’s captaincy career came in 1976-77, when England toured India for a five-Test series.<br /><br />The team had not won there for 15 years but went on to score one of their most convincing triumphs when they clinched the first three Tests by huge margins.<br /><br />Greig's biggest impact on the game came after he joined forces in 1977 with the late Australian businessman Kerry Packer to set up the breakaway World Series Cricket competition. Media magnate Packer's concept, aimed at securing cricket broadcast rights for his Channel Nine, shook up the game's world order by pioneering limited overs matches played at night and turning cricketers into full-time professionals.<br /></p>