The former Australia cricket captain and coach Bob Simpson has died in Sydney aged 89. He was an influential figure in Australian cricket for more than four decades as a player, captain and coach. He 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 made a comeback to captain Australia aged 41 after the game was thrown into crisis by World Series Cricket in 1977.
Former Australia captain Steve Waugh and prime minister Anthony Albanese have led the tributes to Simpson.
“No one gave more to Australian cricket than Bob Simpson – coach, player, commentator, writer, selector, mentor and journalist,” Waugh posted on Instagram.
“He was quite simply the best cricket coach with an unparalleled knowledge of the game together with an insatiable appetite for learning and imparting his wisdom. He made me a better player and he made Australian cricket great. RIP Simmo.”
Born in inner-Sydney’s Marrickville on 3 February 1936, Simpson took to cricket early played first Sheffield Shield game for NSW aged 16.
It was another four years before Simpson was picked for Australia, making his international debut in a tour against New Zealand in 1956.
He was a great accumulator of runs, and formed a formidable opening partnership with Bill Lawry in the 1960s.
Simpson was the second Australian (after Don Bradman) to make a triple century in a Test, scoring 311 against England at Old Trafford in 1964, his maiden Test ton. He was a peerless slips fielder, taking a record 110 catches in 62 Tests between 1957 and 1978.
Simpson served as vice-captain of 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 on 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 tons and 4,869 runs at an average of 46.81. He remained a capable if underused bowler who claimed 71 Test wickets at an average of 42.26.
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 when 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.
Albanese was among the first to pay tribute to Simpson. “Bob Simpson’s extraordinary service to Australian cricket spanned generations,” he wrote on X. “As a player, captain and then era-defining coach, he set the highest standards for himself and the champions he led. “He will be long remembered by the game he loved. May he rest in peace.”
