Bob Simpson, a former participant, captain and coach and one of the influential figures in Australian cricket, has died at the age of 89.
Cricket Australia on Saturday (August 16, 2025) confirmed the demise of Simpson, who represented Australia in 62 Tests and two One-Day Internationals between 1957 and 1978.
Simpson scored 4,869 take a look at runs, together with 10 centuries and 27 half-centuries, and took 71 wickets, whereas captaining Australia in 39 assessments. Simpson was simply 16 when he made his first-class debut for New South Wales state in opposition to Victoria.
He additionally coached Australia from 1986 to 1996 and underneath his agency and regular steering, Australia gained the 1987 World Cup, 4 Ashes campaigns and in 1995 the Frank Worrell Trophy, ending a 17-year drought in opposition to the West Indies.
Cricket Australia stated the Australian group can pay tribute to Simpson with a second’s silence earlier than Saturday night time’s one-day worldwide in opposition to South Africa at Cairns in northern Australia and may also put on black armbands.
Simpson made his (*89*) debut in opposition to South Africa in Johannesburg in 1957, and his first century got here in an Ashes take a look at at Old Trafford in 1964, when Simpson went on to attain 311. He is one among solely seven Australians to make a triple-century.
He was additionally one of many biggest slip-fielders, taking 110 catches.
Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was among the many first to pay tribute to Simpson.
“Bob Simpson’s extraordinary service to Australian cricket spanned generations. As a player, captain and then era-defining coach, he set the highest standards for himself and the champions he led,” Albanese wrote on X.
“He will be long remembered by the game he loved. May he rest in peace.” Simpson was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2013.
“As a brilliant opening batter, incredible slips fielder and handy spin bowler, Bob was a mainstay of a very strong Australian team in the 1960s, and he became a leader across the game as Australian and New South Wales captain and as a coach.” Cricket Australia chairman Mike Baird stated in an announcement.
“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.”
