Bob Woolmer witnessed the two highest First-Class cricket scores while Bob Simpson is the only individual in history to have been part of both Tied Tests.
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Bob Woolmer and Bob Simpson are two of the most influential coaches in the history of cricket. As cricketers, both were superb batsmen and leaders, especially Simpson. Woolmer and Simpson are considered mentors to many cricketers from different countries. However, Simpson and Woolmer have been part of some immortal records in cricket.
If one looks at Bob Simpson, then he is part of a glorious record that has occurred only twice in the history of Test cricket. Simpson is the only individual to be part of both tied Tests in history. The first tied Test in 1960 between West Indies and Australia in Brisbane saw Simpson being part of the match as a player. The second tied Test between India and Australia in Chennai saw Simpson as the coach of the Australian team.
In the 1960 tied Test, Bob Simpson smashed 92 but fell for zero. 26 years later, Simpson was the coach of the Australian cricket team when they tied the Test in Chennai. The 1960 tied Test saw Wes Hall take five wickets. In a chaotic final over, he dismissed Richie Benaud, Wally Grout and Ian Meckiff as the match witnessed history. It was a fantastic series as Australia won 2-1.
Simpson had first toured with Australia in 1957-58 as an allrounder, bowling legbreaks and fielding infallibly at slip. He subsequently became a first-rate opening batsman. Simpson smashed 311 in almost 13 hours in the Ashes Test against England in Old Trafford. In all he made 1381 Test runs in 1964, a record at the time. Australia has had no more productive an opening pairing than Simpson and Bill Lawry.
With the advent of World Series Cricket in April 1977, Simpson emerged from retirement at 41 to lead Australia again, against India. In a series that proved to be path-breaking, an inexperienced Australia side won 3-2 against India. Simpson was an important member in Allan Border’s side as he stressed on discipline and fitness.
In the match against India, Dean Jones’ brilliant 210 gave Australia the edge. It was Ray Bright and Greg Matthews who stole the show with a fantastic display of bowling. It was Matthews who took the final wicket as Australia tied the game. Simpson coached Australia in a successful decade, during which time the team won the World Cup and regained both the Ashes and the Frank Worrell Trophy.
In First-Class cricket, there are two scores that stand out in cricket. Brian Lara’s brilliant 501 for Warwickshire against Durham in 1994 is the highest by any batsman in cricket. In 1959, Hanif Mohammad had set the initial record when he smashed 499 in Karachi. Mohammad’s record had broken the previous mark set by Sir Don Bradman.
However, Lara and Mohammad’s scores had one common connection. That was Bob Woolmer. In 1959, Woolmer wanted to meet his father who was working in Karachi. Woolmer was at prep school at Tonbridge and flew out on a BOAC Comet 4. The plane was almost brought down in fighting in Baghdad but Woolmer survived. Speaking to ESPNCricinfo, Woolmer said, “Dad dropped me at the ground at Karachi. Hanif was closing in on the record and then he went to work. I don’t remember much about it.”
Almost 35 years later, Woolmer was the coach of Warwickshire. The County signed Brian Lara as one of the overseas players. In the match against Durham, Lara survived a couple of dropped catches and a run-out to create history. Lara smashed 501 which included 62 fours and 10 sixes as he rewrote the history books. When Lara was struggling at the start, Woolmer remarked the batsman would not score big.
Simpson would go on to become one of the most successful coaches for South Africa. But, he would never win an ICC event. In 2007, Woolmer died in tragic circumstances after Pakistan was knocked out by Ireland in the first round of the ICC World Cup.
