Guwahati: Bob Simpson, one of Australian cricket’s most influential figures as a player, captain and coach, has died at the age of 89, Cricket Australia confirmed on Saturday.
Simpson represented Australia in 62 Tests and two One-Day Internationals between 1957 and 1978, scoring 4,869 Test runs with 10 centuries and 27 half-centuries, while also taking 71 wickets. He captained the national side in 39 Tests and was widely regarded as one of the finest slip fielders of his era, with 110 catches to his name.
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Making his first-class debut for New South Wales at just 16, Simpson went on to record one of Australian cricket’s greatest innings — a 311-run knock against England at Old Trafford in 1964. He is among only seven Australians to have scored a Test triple century.
After retiring, Simpson returned to serve as Australia’s head coach from 1986 to 1996. Under his leadership, the team won the 1987 World Cup, four Ashes series, and in 1995 lifted the Frank Worrell Trophy, ending a 17-year drought against the West Indies. His coaching tenure is credited with laying the foundation for Australia’s dominance through the 1990s and early 2000s.
Cricket Australia said the national side will honour Simpson with a moment of silence before Saturday’s ODI against South Africa in Cairns, with players also wearing black armbands.
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese led tributes, describing Simpson as “an era-defining coach” whose “extraordinary service to Australian cricket spanned generations.”
Cricket Australia chairman Mike Baird called Simpson “a brilliant opening batter, incredible slips fielder and handy spin bowler” and highlighted his decision to come out of retirement in 1977 during the World Series Cricket era as “a wonderful service to the game.”
Simpson was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2013.