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I played backyard cricket with Bob Simpson. He made one of the greatest comebacks in Australian sport
By Kersi Meher-Homji
BOB SIMPSON: February 3,1936 – August 15, 2025
Robert Baddeley Simpson, who has died aged 89, excelled in various fields of cricket. As an opening batter he formed a highly successful partnership with Bill Lawry. Popularly known as “Simmo”, Simpson was also a leg-spinner, one of the best slip fielders in Test history, an astute leader, an inspiring coach, a cricket commentator and a consultant writer for an international cricket magazine.
Bob Simpson during his time as Lancashire head coach.Credit: Getty
Apart from watching Simpson perform in Test and first-class matches in India and in Australia, I wrote cricket articles with him in World of Cricket magazine in the late 1970s. I also played backyard cricket with him at the house of the magazine editor in Sydney. We were immediate friends, as both of us were against Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket (WSC).
The year 1977 was a critical time for Australian cricket as all regular Test cricketers except fast bowler Jeff Thomson had joined WSC. With a full-strength Indian team (including world-class spinners Bishan Bedi, E.A.S Prasanna, B.S. Chandrasekhar and master batters Sunil Gavaskar and Gundappa Viswanath) due to tour Australia, a desperate Australian Cricket Board approached Simpson to return to Test cricket 10 years after he had retired.
Simpson explained about his comeback in World of Cricket magazine, “I was faced with perhaps the most difficult decision of my cricket life. Initially, my reaction was well, it’s good for the ego, but not really on … However, Australian cricket was under siege. The cream of our talent had been skimmed off by the Packer organisation and the very existence of Test cricket was threatened … With my wife Meg and children Debbie, then 16, and Kim, 18, I sat down and discussed ramifications.”
Australian captain Bob Simpson in second slip dives for a chance against India in 1977.Credit: Fairfax
And just as well that he decided to return to the Test fold after 10 long summers. It turned out to be an act of genius, as Aussie rookies under Simpson defeated a full-strength India by a 3-2 margin. The 41-year-old Simpson scored 539 runs in the engrossing Test series at 53.90, highlights being his 89 in Brisbane, 176 in Perth and 100 and 51 in the final and deciding Test in Adelaide. It was a sensational comeback.
Born to Scottish immigrants on February 3,1936 in Marrickville, he represented NSW, Western Australia and Australia with flair. His father, Jock, was a printer and played soccer in the Scottish League. Schoolboy Bob Simpson was encouraged by his elder brothers Bill and Jack, who had represented Sydney grade cricket. Bob started his career as a fast bowler and a batter, showing leadership skills at Marrickville West Primary School, captaining 14-year-olds when he was12.
He was also a talented golfer, soccer and baseball player. At age 12, he was selected for New South Wales in the under-14 cricket competition. He switched to leg spin when he was 13. Two years later he represented Petersham in Sydney’s first-grade cricket, after hitting many centuries in the under-16 competition.
To start with, Simpson fielded in the deep in first-class cricket. It was the legendary Keith Miller who spotted Simpson’s talent to field in the slips. Simmo took two diving catches to establish his position as a slip fielder throughout his Test career. He made his first-class debut for NSW against Victoria in 1952-53 as a 16-year-old. When Simpson was introduced to his teammates, the legendary Australian batter Arthur Morris joked as to where his nappies were.
Simpson was grateful to another Aussie legend, vice-captain Neil Harvey, for his climb to the top. On Harvey’s advice, he tried opening the batting to replace Jim Burke, who had retired. When he found runs getting difficult, he took Harvey’s help, who advised the youngster that he was playing too square-on while defending on the back foot.
Bob Simpson and Shane Warne at a training session in 1996.Credit: Fairfax
He became one of the most consistent openers at Test level. In 62 Tests from 1957 to 1978 he amassed 4869 runs at an average of 46.81, hitting 10 centuries – his highest score being 311 against England at Old Trafford, Manchester, in 1964. He also took 71 wickets at 42.26 (grabbing five wickets in an innings twice, his best spell being five for 57) and 110 catches. He was an astute rather than a dynamic captain.
Simpson’s 311 in the Old Trafford Test took 760 minutes, and he was criticised for his slow batting. The Daily Mail called it the “murder of Test cricket”. At one stage, six journalists in the press box were seen dozing while he was batting. Simpson defended his tactics, asserting that with a series lead, batting England out of the match was the best way to retain the Ashes.
In that same Test, he added 201 runs for the opening wicket with Bill Lawry. They did even better in the Barbados Test against West Indies in 1964, when they put on 382 runs for the first wicket, skipper Simpson scoring 201 and Lawry 210. They became the first opening pair to register double centuries in the same Test innings. Between them, they added 3596 runs in Tests at an average of 61.
Simpson became the second Australian, after Don Bradman, to make a Test triple century in England. He was also the second batsman after Garry Sobers to record a triple century as his first Test hundred. A prolific scorer, Simpson recorded another triple century in first-class cricket: 359 for NSW against Queensland at Brisbane in 1963-64.
Australian Test captain Bob Simpson in 1965.Credit: Fairfax
He was also a strict but inspiring coach like Justin Langer. When Australia was looking for a full-time coach in the mid-1980s, Simpson was the Australian Cricket Board’s choice. He gave Allan Border’s team a taste of the discipline to which he had always submitted himself as a player. To quote writer Gideon Haigh, “A martinet where fitness, fielding and batting technique were concerned, he held the job for a controversial but successful decade, during which time the team won the World Cup and regained both the Ashes and the Frank Worrell Trophy.”
Simmo remained Australia’s coach until he was replaced by Geoff Marsh in 1996. Under Simpson as coach, Australia improved from being a weak team to the strongest in the world. Apart from winning the 1987 World Cup, Australia regained the Ashes in England in 1989 and defeated the then-invincible West Indies in the Caribbean in 1995.
Simpson tries on a baggy green cap after a 10-year absence from first-class cricket 1977.Credit: Fairfax
Simpson later coached English counties Leicestershire and Lancashire, and also Rajasthan in India.
I was privileged to sit next to Bob Simpson and his daughter Debbie at a function held by the Cricketers’ Club of NSW in 1984, for the Richie Benaud Award for the best under-19 cricketer of the year. When schoolboy Mark Waugh won, Simpson was full of praise for the then 18-year-old Mark and his twin brother Steve.
When I finished my book The Waugh Twins in 1998, I requested Bob write a foreword. He readily agreed, starting with: “First, as the book is by Kersi Meher-Homji, I know it will be accurate, honest and a very good read. Secondly, the Waugh twins were a major part of my life for over a decade and I had the good fortune to be able to see and perhaps oversee their development from talented youngsters to champions.”
His own biography, Simpson’s Safari, was authored by R.S. Whitington in 1967. Simpson also wrote several books – my favourites being Simmo (1979) and Captain’s Story (1966). He said of his career: “It took me many years to become an overnight success.”
Simpson was made Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1965 and made an officer of the Order of Australia in 1985. He was also made Member of the Order of British Empire (MBE).
He dedicated his autobiography, Simmo, to his wife and two daughters: “To my three girls – Meg, Kim and Debbie.”
Kim is married to former Test cricketer and chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch.
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