Bobby Simpson by Nigel Stockley

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Player:

RB Simpson

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DateLine: 16th August 2025

 

Former Accrington professional Bobby Simpson has passed away at the age of 89.

 

The former Australian captain and coach set a club record of 1444 runs in his season at Accrington in the long hot summer of 1959 that stood for 54 years until Ashar Zaidi broke it in the championship winning season of 2013.

 

At the age of 23, Simpson had played in six of his 62 Test matches.

 

He created a league record by scoring eleven consecutive half centuries in his total of fourteen in the season.

 

He also hit two centuries in averaging 103.0.

 

In his 62 Tests Simpson hit 4,869 runs at 46.8.

 

He also took 71 wickets with his leg spin and was one of the best slip fielders ever.

 

Simpson also went on to coach Lancashire, Leicestershire and the Netherlands after overseeing a golden age of Australian Cricket from 1986 until 1996.