Death of England cricket legend
THE cricketing world was in mourning last night after it was announced that former England captain Bob Willis had died at the age of 70.
Tributes poured in for the fast bowler, who was a key player alongside Sir Ian Botham in securing some of England’s most famous victories of the 1970s and 1980s.
Willis was diagnosed with prostate cancer three years ago. His health had deteriorated recently after scans showed the cancer had advanced.
His family said yesterday: “We are heartbroken to lose our beloved Bob, who was an incredible husband, father, brother and grandfather.
“He made a huge impact on everybody he knew and we will miss him terribly. Bob is survived by his wife Lauren, daughter Katie, brother David and sister Ann.”
They asked for donations to be made to Prostate Cancer UK.
The England Cricket Board said: “The ECB is deeply saddened to say farewell to Bob Willis, a legend of
‘He would run in, nearly 6ft 6ins of him, and hit the pitch hard’
English cricket, at the age of 70. Bob spearheaded the England bowling attack for more than a decade and took 325 Test wickets.
“He will always be remembered for his outstanding cricket career, in particular his 8 wickets for 43 in the dramatic Headingley Test victory over Australia in 1981.” Former England captain Nasser Hussain said: “He was England through and through. He absolutely loved it when they won games. He was a model professional around the commentary box, too.” Fellow former England captain Alec Stewart said the loss was “so, so sad”. And ex-England captain David Gower described Willis as “a very loyal friend and a loyal supporter”. Former England fast bowler Darren Gough said: “As a player he had a big heart, he’d run in, nearly 6ft 6ins, and hit the pitch hard. At his peak he was one of the best bowlers in the world.”
From the football world, Gary Lineker tweeted: “Saddened to hear that Bob Willis has died. One of our greatest fast bowlers.”
Willis played 90 Test matches for his country and took 325 wickets.
He also captained England in 18 Tests and 29 one-day internationals before retiring in 1984.
His standout moment was the “Miracle of Headingley” in the 1981 Ashes series in the Third Test.
England trailed 1-0 in the series, were forced to follow on and needed Botham’s spectacular 149 not out to force Australia to bat again, setting them 129 to win.
Willis’ sensational bowling that day saw him end the match with figures of 8-43 as England went on to win the Test by 18 runs.
After his retirement he went on to forge a successful career in broadcasting, initially with the BBC.
He joined Sky Sports as a commentator and pundit in 1991.
Willis represented Surrey for the first two years of his professional career before spending 12 years at Warwickshire, finishing with 899 wickets from 308 first class matches.
The Sunderland-born bowler made his international debut at 21.
At the time of his retirement, only Australian fast bowler Dennis Lillee had taken more Test wickets.
James Anderson (575), Stuart Broad (471) and Ian Botham (383) are the only England bowlers to have since surpassedWillis’ tally.