Bob Simpson (cricketer) - Coaching Career

Coaching Career

In 1986, Simpson took over as coach of an Australian team which was young, demoralised and regarded as soft. 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 the 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, the bounciest surface in world cricket. Australia was unable to regroup and succumbed to the pace of the West Indies. They 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 strengthen introduction 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 was 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 a finally reclaimed the Frank Worrell Trophy with a 2–1 series win in the Caribbean in mid 1995, thereby establishing itself 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.

After 2–1 and 3–0 series win over Pakistan and Sri Lanka at home in 1995–96, Simpson made his coaching swansong 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.