Bob Simpson, former Australia cricket captain and coach, dies aged 89

Former Australia cricket captain and coach, Bob Simpson, has died in Sydney aged 89.

Robert Baddeley Simpson was an influential figure in Australian cricket for more than four decades as a player, captain and coach, and also made his mark on the game as a law-maker, referee and commentator.

Simpson first pulled on the baggy green cap of the Australian Test cricket team in 1957, and famously made a comeback to captain Australia aged 41 after the game was thrown into crisis by World Series Cricket in 1977.

Born in inner-Sydney’s Marrickville on February 3, 1936, Simpson took to cricket early, captaining teams in primary and high school where he was chosen to represent his state aged 12 and taking the field in his first Sheffield Shield game for NSW aged just 16.

View image in fullscreen Bob Simpson is inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 2006. Photograph: Chris Scott/AAP

It was another four years before the man known as “Simmo” was tapped for Australia, making his international debut in a tour against New Zealand in 1956, after being previously overlooked for the Ashes tour of England in which Australia were defeated for the third time.

He was a great accumulator of runs, and formed with Bill Lawry a formidable opening partnership in the 1960s.

Simpson was the second Australian (after Don Bradman) to make 300 in a Test, scoring 311 against England at Old Trafford in 1964, his maiden Test century.

He was a peerless slips fielder, taking a then-record 110 catches in 62 Tests between 1957 and 1978.

Simpson served as vice-captain of both NSW and Australia under Richie Benaud, and led the national team for the first time in 1964, playing South Africa in the New Year’s Day Test in Melbourne after Benaud injured himself playing grade cricket.

He led the team in tours of the UK, the West Indies and India, but decided to retire from representative cricket in 1968, playing his last match in Sydney against India under the captaincy of Lawry.

Nine years after his retirement as a Test player, World Series Cricket divided the game and Simpson returned in 1977 at the age of 41 to lead the Australian team for Test series against India and the West Indies.

Simpson first broke into the Test team as a leg-spinning all-rounder but eventually found his place at the top of the batting order.

He took until his 30th Test to compile a first century, when he was already Australia captain, and finished with 10 Test centuries and 4,869 runs at an average of 46.81.

He continued to be a capable if underused leg-spinner who claimed 71 wickets at an average of 42.26.

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View image in fullscreen Former Australian coach Bob Simpson talks with fellow leg-spinner Shane Warne. Photograph: AAP

After his playing career he went on to coach in five of the 10 Test-playing countries and also helped spread the gospel in lesser cricketing outposts like Nepal, China and the Netherlands.

Simpson was most proud of his achievements as a coach, notably of Australia between 1986 and 1996, a decade in which the team emerged from a lean period to become the powerhouse of the modern game.

As Australia’s first full-time coach, Simpson was at the helm alongside captains Allan Border and Mark Taylor as Australia won the 1987 World Cup, regained the Ashes in England in 1989, and defeated the West Indies away from home in 1995.

“Bob Simpson was one of the greats of Australian cricket and this is a sad day for anyone fortunate to have watched him play or who benefited from his wisdom,” Mike Baird, Cricket Australia chair, said.

“Bob’s decision to come out of retirement to successfully lead the Australian team during the advent of World Series Cricket in 1977 was a wonderful service to the game, and his coaching set the foundation for a golden era for Australian cricket.”

Simpson was a member of the MCC committee which rewrote the laws of the game in the late 1990s.

He was first appointed a Member in the Order of Australia in 1978, which was upgraded to Officer (AO) in 2007 for services to the game as a coach, consultant and administrator.

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