Robert Baddeley Simpson (3 February 1936 – 16 August 2025), known as Simmo, was an Australian cricketer who played for New South Wales, Western Australia and the Australian national team. He captained the Australian team from 1963/64 until 1967/68 and again in 1977/78. He later had a highly successful term as the coach of the national team.
An outstanding fielder with the highest catch rate in Tests, Simpson was a top-level right-handed batsman and semi-regular leg spin bowler. After ten years in retirement, he returned to the spotlight at age 41 to captain Australia during the era of World Series Cricket.
In 1986, Simpson was appointed coach of the Australian team, a position he held until being replaced by Geoff Marsh in July 1996. Under Simpson's tutelage, the team went from a struggling team, losing a succession of Test series, to the strongest team in world cricket. Some of the team's greatest achievements in his time as coach were winning the 1987 World Cup, regaining The Ashes in England in 1989, and overcoming the previously dominant West Indies on their home grounds in 1995. He also coached county cricket in England, with Leicestershire and Lancashire.
Early years
Born to Scottish immigrants from Falkirk, Simpson grew up in the inner-southwestern Sydney suburb of Marrickville. His father Jock was a printer his grandfather Harry played briefly for Stoke, Simpson was encouraged as a schoolboy by his two elder brothers Bill and Jack, who played in first division Sydney Grade Cricket for many years.
In his early years, Simpson was also a talented golfer, baseballer and soccer player, and was known for being a confident and tenacious competitor.
Simpson had his first taste of first-class cricket as a slips fieldsman, having previously fielded on the boundary. Coming on as 12th man, Keith Miller casually pointed him to the slips, At the age of 16 years and 354 days, this made him the second youngest cricketer to be capped for New South Wales, just three months older than teammate Ian Craig when he made his debut.
Simpson then scored 69 in the next match against South Australia, his only other innings and match for the season. and Simpson found it difficult to break into the team at full strength. He played two matches at the start of the season, and two more at the end of the summer; New South Wales won all of these fixtures except the first, which was drawn.
The following season in 1954–55, Simpson had more chances in the New South Wales middle order as the Test players were often playing for Australia against the touring English cricket team. However, he missed only one Shield match against Victoria and played in the remainder of New South Wales' matches, despite the presence of the Test players for the full season, which was purely domestic. During the time, he lived in the house of Fremantle Cricket Club President Bob Ballantine. After a slow start for his adopted state, Simpson hit form in December, registering a sequence of 75, 97, 26, 96 and 112 not out, the latter two scores coming in a match against Queensland. He scored 263 runs at 43.83 in the first-class matches, including two half-centuries. Simpson played in all three matches against New Zealand, and scored 47, 67, 26 not out, a duck and 8 not out. The young Australian team was derided as the worst to leave Australian shores. In the tour matches leading up to the Tests, Simpson performed consistently. He scored 103 against Transvaal and 53 not out against Eastern Province, and totaled 304 runs at 60.66 in seven matches ahead of the Tests. He took two wickets at 64.50 in the first-class matches, and managed 6/61 in a non-first-class match against the South African Country Districts. while Simpson was in South Africa, took his middle-order position. Peter Burge failed in the First Test, resulting in Simpson's recall for the Second Test at Melbourne. Simpson made a duck in his only innings as Australia won by eight wickets and was subsequently omitted for the remainder of the series.
He returned to his native state of New South Wales after 60–61, after four seasons for Western Australia, in which he produced 2470 runs at 79.67. This occurred after Lawry scored heavily in the tour matches ahead of the Tests, scoring several centuries, whereas Simpson failed to make the most of his starts. In his first six county matches, Simpson reached double figures six times in ten innings. He passed 25 on all six occasions, but only passed fifty once, scoring a 72 against Yorkshire. Simpson struck form in his last two matches before the Tests. Against the Marylebone Cricket Club, which fielded several Test players, he struck an unbeaten 92 in an unbroken 186-run opening stand with Lawry in the second innings to set up a match-winning declaration, and took a total of 4/105 with his leg spin. In between these Tests, he struck a 103 against Lancashire. removing Ken Barrington for 78 and cleaning up the tail with three more wickets,—which allowed Australia to reach set a winning target on the last day. Early on, England appeared destined for the target, as Dexter plundered 21 from Simpson's first four overs. However, the English batsman fell and Simpson did not concede a run in his remaining four overs. He claimed the wicket of Fred Trueman as England collapsed to be all out for 201 on the final afternoon to cede the Ashes. As the last two Tests were drawn, this was the difference between Australia retaining and losing the Ashes. Simpson was not prominent in the last two matches. He scored 71 in the second innings of the Fourth Test but made 32 and two ducks in the other innings, and took a total of 2/163 in the last two Tests, conceding more than four runs per over. with Simpson being elevated to the vice-captaincy of both NSW and Australia (under Richie Benaud) at the start of the 1963–64 season.
In his first innings of the season, Simpson made his highest first-class score of 359, against Queensland, scoring more than half of his team's 661 in an innings win. Simpson scored 12 and 34 and took a solitary wicket. At the time Simpson had scored only 1246 runs at 32.78 and taken 22 wickets at 39.40 in 23 Tests and had not scored a century.
Simpson was leading an inexperienced team with Benaud, Harvey and Davidson all gone; only Wally Grout and himself remained from the Tied Test team three years earlier. Simpson scored half-centuries in both the Third and Fourth Tests and ended the series with 361 runs at 40.11 average. Simpson hit form in the three county matches leading up to the Test at Manchester, scoring 117 against Leicestershire and scoring fifties in the last three innings. Simpson continued on his quest of batting England out of the game. Following the dismissal of Ian Redpath (19), Norm O'Neill (47) and Peter Burge (34), Brian Booth went about building the sixth-wicket partnership on the second day. Simpson combined in another double century stand, 219, before Booth was out for 98. Simpson was 265 at the close of play, and resumed Australia's innings. This time, he was in an aggressive mood, scoring a further 46 runs in 40 minutes before being dismissed for 311, which was later equalled by Hashim Amla of South Africa who made 311 not out|* Australia declared at 8/656. Later in December 2016, an Indian cricketer Karun Nair, joined this elite club when he scored 303 not out, as his maiden century against England at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The tactic paid off as the match ended in a high-scoring draw and the Ashes were retained. Another draw in the Fifth Test at The Oval, in which Simpson scored 24, ensured that Australia won the series 1–0.
Australia then made a brief tour of the subcontinent during their return voyage, playing three Tests against India and one against Pakistan. These were played consecutively, with no other tour matches.
International twilight
Simpson's appearances during the 1965–66 Ashes series were intermittent. He missed the First Test due to a broken wrist, which ended in a draw under the leadership of Booth. It was the first time that Australia had lost by an innings since 1956, and the selectors responded by dropping four players including Booth. During the 1975–76 season, he had organised for both Australian and West Indian players to market shampoo and deodorant, and he helped to find sponsors for the Australian team. He also called for the revival of the Cavaliers XI concept to boost the popularity of cricket. He wrote a book titled Captain's Story, in which he expressed his anger against bowlers that he believed to have bowled with an illegal action. His former teammate Ian Meckiff took issue with the contents and sued for libel. After five years of litigation, Simpson settled out of court and apologised to Meckiff.
Simpson retired after the tour at the age of 42. He had scored 5,317 runs for New South Wales at 53.17. In Sydney Grade Cricket, he scored 10,111 runs at 61.65 and took 186 wickets at 23.62. and was fast enough to catch flies with his hands. A considerable turnover of players due to constant failure in the past eighteen months had seen the likes of Steve Waugh, David Boon, Dean Jones, Craig McDermott and Geoff Marsh all make their debuts under captain Allan Border. Prior to his first series, the tour of New Zealand, Australia had not won a series for two years. In that period they managed three wins, 11 losses and eight draws. His appointment bore little initial fruit. They won none of their eleven Tests in 1986, and lost three. By the end of the 1986–87 Australian season, Australia had only won two of their last 22 Tests, and none of their last 14. They had gone three years without winning a Test series.
The 1987 Cricket World Cup heralded the start of more prosperous times for Australian cricket. Rank outsiders, Australia defeated hosts India by one run in the opening match, and New Zealand twice by three and 17 runs respectively. They capitalised on these hard fought wins to take five victories from their six-round robin matches. They then defeated Pakistan by 18 runs after inducing a late collapse in the semifinal, and then claimed the title by seven runs with a similar late surge over England in the final. The success spilled into the Test arena, with the 1987–88 home season yielding saw Australia's first Test series victory for four years, with a 1–0 series victory over New Zealand. The season was completed with one-off Tests against England and Sri Lanka respectively, which ended in a draw and win respectively.
The 1988–89 season began with a tour of Pakistan. Australia were unable to end the 29 year streak without a win on Pakistani soil, 1–0. Simpson and Border were criticised for their outspoken criticism of the umpiring and doctored pitches. It was typical of the hard nosed approach they had brought to the team, with Border being given the epithet "Captain Grumpy".
Simpson was unable to guide his team past the dominant West Indies, who toured Australia in 1988–89 and took a 3–1 Test series victory, but he was able to regain the Ashes with a 4–0 result on the 1989 tour, which also saw opener Mark Taylor establish himself as a Test match player; Taylor later became captain under Simpson.
The 1989–90 Australian season saw further growth, as the Australia played one, two and three Tests against New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Pakistan respectively. Simpson's men won a Test each against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, while the others were drawn. It was the first Australian season in six years where they were undefeated. The 1990–91 season saw another comfortable Ashes series win, 3–0. Early 1991 saw a five Test tour of the West Indies, the first since the heavy 3–0 defeat in 1983. Australia had improved, managing a 2–1 loss. The 1991–92 Australian season saw a heavy 4–0 win in a five Test series over India, but was marred by Australia's ignominious 1992 Cricket World Cup campaign on home soil. The pre-tournament favourites, they were eliminated in the group stages, coming fifth. The 1992–93 saw another tour to Australia by the West Indies, the only team against which Simpson was yet to record a series victory as coach. After taking a 1–0 series lead into the Fourth Test, Simpson's team lost by one run, failing to seal the Frank Worrell Trophy. This left the series to be decided in the Fifth Test at the WACA Ground in Perth, a ground at which the West Indies had then never lost a Test match. Australia were unable to regroup and succumbed to the pace of the West Indies, whose fast bowling was enhanced by the bouncy surface of the pitch. Australia collapsed from 1/58 in the first innings to be dismissed for 119, with Curtly Ambrose taking a spell of 7/1. Australia were crushed by an innings within three days, and victory over the Caribbeans again eluded them. 1993 saw a return to England for another Ashes tour. Australia won the series 4–1, and returned home to claim the Trans Tasman Trophy with a comfortable 2–0 victory over New Zealand at home in late 1993. This was followed by two drawn series, home and away against South Africa, the first competition between the teams post-apartheid. At the end of the 1993–94 Border retired. The four previous seasons had seen the team strengthening introductions of Mark Waugh, Shane Warne, Michael Slater and Glenn McGrath in each of the respective seasons. The Waugh brothers, along with Taylor, Slater and Boon were to be the core of Australia's batting lineup which was to re-establish the nation at the top of international cricket in the following years. Warne revived leg spin, believed to be the dying art, and was to become the leading wicket-taker in Test history, while McGrath became the leading wicket-taking fast bowler in Test history.
With Taylor taking over as captain, Australia headed to Pakistan in late 1994. Despite having the ascendancy for most of the First Test, they lost by one wicket, and after two high scoring draws in which they held the initiative, Australia suffered a 1–0 series loss, still unable to win a match in Pakistan since 1959. Australia then took a 3–1 home Ashes series victory in 1994–95, and then finally reclaimed the Frank Worrell Trophy with a 2–1 series win in the Caribbean in mid-1995, thereby establishing themselves as the leading Test team in the world. After the match, Taylor took the winning cricket ball to Simpson, who at the time was recovering from a blood clot in his leg. Simpson made his coaching swan song at the 1996 Cricket World Cup on the Indian subcontinent, where Australia overcame a forfeit to Sri Lanka in the group phase due to a Tamil Tiger bombing. After narrow wins over New Zealand and the West Indies in the quarter and semifinals, they lost in the final to Sri Lanka.
India had appointed Bob Simpson as consultant for the 1999 cricket World Cup.
Later coaching career
Simpson during 2009 Women's cricket World Cup|thumb
He coached Lancashire for two years, ending in September 2001. Earlier, he had coached Leicestershire. His insistence on hard work was less successful in England, and was often speculated to be due to a difference in psychology in the two countries.
In late 2004, Simpson accepted a three-year contract to act as a cricket advisor to Rajasthan in the Ranji Trophy. He had served as a consultant to the Indian cricket team in the late 1990s.
In the early 2000s, Simpson was part of the International Cricket Council's committee for dealing with throwing. In 2004, he condemned the ICC, claiming that it was soft on illegal bowling actions and that the number of illegitimate bowlers was at an all-time high. He asserted that officials were reluctant to crack down on high-profile bowlers with dubious actions, saying that it was encouraging young players to mimic their actions.
Simpson was a traditionalist coach, tending to emphasise the fundamentals of batting, bowling and fielding. He criticised the 21st-century style of coaching, which has increasingly used computer technology, biomechanics and science to recommend playing techniques, stating that it had verged into "computers for computers' sake". He also coached the Netherlands national cricket team, overseeing a successful ICC Trophy campaign which saw them qualify for the 2007 Cricket World Cup. Simpson called for the Netherlands to be incorporated into the English domestic league so that they could gain more experience.
Honours
Simpson was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1965 and inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985. He was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 2006 and the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2013.
He was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 1978 Birthday Honours for services to cricket, and promoted to Officer of the same order (AO) in the 2007 Australia Day Honours "for service to cricket as a coach at state, national and international levels, as a consultant, particularly in countries where cricket is an emerging sport, and through contributions to revision of the laws of cricket." He received an Australian Sports Medal in 2000 and a Centenary Medal in 2001.