Former Australian captain Bob Simpson passes away at 89
What's the story
Bob Simpson, a former Australian Test captain and the country's first full-time coach, has passed away at the age of 89. He died in Sydney. A legendary figure in Australian cricket history, Simpson played 62 Test matches between 1957 and 1978, scoring 4,869 runs. The talisman had an impressive batting average of 46.81. He also claimed 71 wickets with the ball.
Career highlights
Simpson's First-class career and comeback
Simpson made his First-Class debut for New South Wales at just 16 years old. He went on to score 21,029 runs and take 349 wickets as a leg-spinner. After retiring in 1968 after an illustrious career as one of Australia's best openers, Simpson made a stunning comeback as Test captain in 1977 during the World Series Cricket split. At age 41, he led Australia against India and West Indies during home and away Tests respectively.
Captaincy achievements
His highest score and record opening partnership
Simpson scored 10 Test centuries, all as captain. His highest score was a mammoth 311 against England in Manchester in 1964. He also formed one of Australia's most successful Test opening partnerships with Bill Lawry, adding a record 382 runs for the first wicket against West Indies in 1965. After retiring from international cricket, Simpson was appointed Australia's coach and selector in 1986 during a tough phase for Australian cricket.
Legacy
His coaching career at the national level
Along with captain Allan Border, Simpson helped instill discipline and hard work into a younger group of players such as David Boon, Dean Jones, Steve Waugh, Craig McDermott and Merv Hughes. He was also on the selection panel that picked Mark Taylor, Ian Healy, Mark Waugh among others for Australia's next golden generation. Under his guidance as coach from 1987-96 Australia won the World Cup in 1987 and regained Ashes in 1989.
Coaching journey
His coaching career at the club level
Simpson also coached Leicestershire and Lancashire in England for short stints. He served as a coaching advisor for Rajasthan in the Ranji Trophy in India and as a consultant to India's men's team during the late '90s. Even into his 70s, he continued coaching, including with Netherlands through a successful qualification campaign to reach the 2007 World Cup. In 1978, he was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM), which was upgraded to Officer (AO) in 2007 for services to cricket as coach, consultant and administrator.