Australian cricket has lost a giant. Bob Simpson, former captain, opening batter and the hard-nosed coach who orchestrated the country’s rise from the doldrums of the mid-1980s to the top of the world game, has died aged 89.
A great player in his own right, Simpson’s contribution to the game extended well beyond his near 5000 runs or the 62 Tests he played, including 39 as captain over two stints.
Bob Simpson and Shane Warne at a training session in 1996.Credit: Fairfax
As a mark of his longevity, Simpson captained Richie Benaud in the 1960s while forging one of Australia’s greatest opening partnerships with Bill Lawry, and was still involved in the 1990s when Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath ruled.
He led Australia to a surprise first World Cup title in India in 1987, reclaimed the Ashes in 1989 with a team dubbed one of the worst ever, and climbed the pinnacle in 1995 by defeating the mighty West Indies in the Caribbean.
In between, he famously returned at the age of 41 in 1977, nearly 10 years between Tests, to lead Australia after its playing stocks were decimated by Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket.
“There’d be very few people who could say they’ve contributed more to Australian cricket than Bob Simpson,” former captain Mark Taylor said.
Allan Border and Simpson in 1992.Credit: Craig Golding/Fairfax Media
Simpson’s legacy was set in the 1980s as Australia’s first full-time coach, tasked with the unenviable job of rebuilding after the retirements of Dennis Lillee, Greg Chappell and Rod Marsh, and the exodus of stars to the 1985 rebel tour of South Africa.
Along with captain Allan Border, who termed the pair an “odd couple”, Simpson helped unearth generational stars Steve and Mark Waugh, Mark Taylor, Dean Jones, David Boon and Craig McDermott.
Steve Waugh, one of the young stars whom Simpson invested so heavily in, said “no one gave more to Australian cricket”.
“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,” Waugh posted to Instagram. “He made me a better player and he made Australian cricket great.”
A bowler of leg spin himself, Simpson played an important role in the development of a young Shane Warne.
As a coach, Simpson was ahead of his time with what would now be deemed as old school methods. He was a disciplinarian who placed a premium on fitness and fielding.
“I wouldn’t say we were a rabble but we could’ve been doing things a bit better,” Border told this masthead on Saturday.
Ian Chappell, Bill Lawry, Bob Simpson and Richie Benaud in 1977.Credit: The Age
“I suppose in the wake of retirements, World Series Cricket, the aftermath of that, guys going to South Africa, it affected our national team – and you’re not allowed to be a bad national cricket team.
“It was perfect timing for me personally as the captain. I was all things to the team for a year or two – maybe not in my character to be like that. He was the sergeant major – a disciplinarian. He worked our backsides off and it paid dividends.”
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His former charges vividly remember the sense of dread when Simpson pointed to them and saying “you’re with me”.
These words would come at training, often after Simpson caught wind of a player being out too late the night before.
“He had this simple mantra, up to midnight is your time, after midnight is cricket time,” Border said.
“He was Inspector Clouseau, the scariest three words in cricket at the time after the team meeting, Simmo would pipe up with, ‘you’re with me’.
“You got a hammering in the fielding drills because he knew you’d been out. It wasn’t like a strictly enforced curfew but he took it upon himself to let you know that he knew you were out later than you should have been.”
Merv Hughes was always a fan favourite, and not just with the Aussies.Credit: Getty Images
Larger-than-life fast bowler Merv Hughes was a regular target. Simpson loved Hughes, Border said, as he recognised what his personality delivered to the dressing room dynamic.
“Simmo used to hammer him – he’d clown around, he loved it but he’d pick Merv out,” Border said.
“Merv was Simmo’s type of guy, brings something to the team more than just skills. The effect he had on the team playing the village idiot but he wasn’t. The guys who play the village idiot are often the smartest guy in the room.”
Hughes paid tribute to Simpson on X, describing Simpson as “truly a great coach but an even greater man”.
Shane Warne works with Bob Simpson.Credit: Dallas Kilponen/Fairfax Media
Simpson was a serious man, but could leave his players in stitches. Taylor recalled an episode during the 1993 Ashes when Simpson unloaded at Warne, who had stormed into the Old Trafford dressing room angry with his dismissal. Warne threw his bat at his coffin, only for it to “bounce off like an exit missile” and crash into Simpson’s knee.
“The look on Warnie’s face. If he could’ve crawled into a hole and covered himself forever and ever, he would have,” Taylor said. “Simmo went at him. The rest of us didn’t say anything. At the time, he was serious but 30 seconds later we were laughing.”
Simpson revolutionised one-day cricket. In the 1980s, the 50-over game held huge box office appeal but tactics were not sophisticated. Simpson’s strategy was devised around getting to 50 through the first 15 overs without loss then accelerating to a target of about 220 – a highly competitive score during that era – and backing their skill in the field to defend.
Bob Simpson as Test captain in 1965.Credit: Fairfax
“In those days, 220 wasn’t a bad score, now you’d be laughed off the paddock,” Border said.
David Boon, who opened with Geoff Marsh, was integral to the game plan.
“He thought if we scored the most ones in a 50-over game we’d win it, because everything would follow,” said Boon, who later became a match referee and is now a Cricket Australia director.
Simpson set high standards. Boon recalls a conversation in the rooms at the WACA after making a double century.
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“I had my head down, I felt his presence, he was standing in front of me, he ticked me off for getting out,” he said.
“I thought I’d just made 200, it was him challenging me to be better. Move forward when you’re in that position, it was one of his challenges. We worked so hard. Without him, I don’t think I could’ve produced as a bat pad.”
As a player, Simpson was the complete package. A fine opener who averaged 47, Simpson was also exceptional slips fielder.
He and Lawry were a formidable opening combination. Their record for most runs scored by an Australian opening pair stood for nearly 30 years until Taylor and Michael Slater passed them. The pair spent more time together with the pads on than off.
“Bobby was out there on the golf course, I was looking for pigeons,” Lawry said. “We didn’t spend time off the field. It’s a good thing. If you want to bat all day with someone, you won’t want to see them at night.
“We lived in different worlds. Once you walked to the field and Bob Simpson was involved you knew it would be good.”
Australia’s T20 team will wear black arm bands in memory of Simpson for Saturday night’s match against South Africa in Cairns.
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Andrew Wu
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