It certainly has. Most important players conditions and remuneration have been improved. Which is great because afterall you can't have cricket without the players. Packer's Cricket had to come to bring cricket into line with other top sporting bodies. The crowd appeal of one day cricket including coloured clothing has come to be the norm and has brought in the crowds.
Cricket evolves as does history.
While Packer undoubtedly benefited cricket and sport in general, he was lucky to be able to recruit an unusually large crop offast bowlers and batsmen capable of taking them on. Packer could not have flourishedwithout the high standard of cricket. Then it was quickies bowling bouncers, nowsuccessful cricketers are leg spinners or pace bowlers who can reverse swing. Batsmenare more defensive now. But cricket will continue to evolve.