Robert Baddeley Simpson AO, known as Bobby or Simmo, is a former cricketer who played for New South Wales, Western Australia and Australia. 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. Bob Simpson is considered one of the finest batsman to have ever represented Australia.

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 he 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.

Born to Scottish immigrants from Falkirk, Simpson grew up in the inner-southwestern Sydney suburb of Marrickville. 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. At 12, he was selected for New South Wales in the Under-14 Competition. He switched to leg spin at the age of thirteen, and a week after turning 15 he was playing for Petersham's First XI in Sydney Grade Cricket after hitting string of centuries in the under-16 competition. 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,which in that era was against convention, as substitutes were expected to not field in close catching positions. He took two diving catches to establish his position in the cordon.

He was still 11 days shy of his seventeenth birthday when he was selected to make his Sheffield Shield debut as a middle order batsman for New South Wales against Victoria in the 1952/53 season. He had played only 12 first grade matches prior to this. When he arrived to meet his teammates, Australian vice-captain Arthur Morris asked him where his nappies were. He scored 44 and 8, without being dismissed in either innings.

Simpson then scored 69 in the next match against South Australia, his only other innings and match for the season. The 1953/54 season was a purely domestic one, with no international team touring. New South Wales were the strongest state at the time with many Test players and won the first of nine consecutive Sheffield Shield titles, and Simpson found it difficult to break into the team at full strength. He was only required to bat six times and his two highest innings of 58 and 42 were ended when New South Wales reached their target, leaving him unbeaten.

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 failed to make the use of this, scoring only 123 runs in the first seven innings and was in and out of the team. He then struck form against Victoria, scoring 104 of New South Wales' 234. At the start of the 1955/56 season, Simpson was hit in the nose by a bouncer, forcing him to have two operations. Simpson was overlooked for selection for the 1956 tour of England after an indifferent season. Australia lost its third consecutive Ashes tour and in doing so suffered two successive innings defeats, something that it had not suffered for 68 years.

After the 1956 Ashes series, captain Ian Johnson and vice-captain Keith Miller both retired, creating more openings in a struggling national team. 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. In the following season, Simpson was selected for the Test tour of South Africa in 1957/58. 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. His catching form was exceptional, yielding 13 catches in the five Tests and playing a factor in his retention in the team. In all Simpson took 26 catches in 16 matches.

After his unconvincing performances with the bat in the South African Tests, Simpson needed runs at the start of the 1958/59 season to retain his position in the national team for the Ashes series against England, but was overlooked after some mediocre domestic form. In the Southern Hemisphere winter in 1959, Simpson played a season in the Lancashire League in England as Accrington's professional player, receiving a £950-contract. He scored 1,444 runs at 103.14, returning a better statistical analysis than Gary Sobers, and took 47 wickets at 20.82. Despite this, Simpson was not selected for the squad for the series against India and Pakistan on the 1959/60 tour of the Indian subcontinent.

Simpson returned to Australia, he had a productive period in the Sheffield Shield for Western Australia, rectifying his prior problem of not capitalising on his starts. On the advice of Harvey, he reinvented himself as an opening batsman in an attempt to exploit the opportunity opened by the retirement of Test opener Jimmy Burke. At the start of the 1959/60 Australian season, he scored 98 and took a total of 2/77 in a drawn match against Victoria. In the next match, Simpson broke through for his maiden double-century, posting 236 not out in Western Australia's 4/487. Simpson then made his second double-century in as many innings, posting 230 not out in an innings win against Queensland.

He was selected for a non-Test tour of New Zealand by Australia's Second XI, as the first-choice team was still in the subcontinent. Playing as an opener, he scored 418 runs at 69.66 in four representative matches. This included an unbeaten 129 in the third match that guided Australia to an eight-wicket win. During this period, Simpson transformed into a less flamboyant and more solid player who eschewed the hook shot and swayed backwards to avoid short balls. In the first match of the new Australian season, Simpson scored 87 out of Western Australia's modest 140 against the touring West Indies. After the visitors collapsed for 97, Simpson then added 221 not out and took a total of 2/69 to help defeat the Caribbeans.

As a result of his strong domestic form, Simpson was recalled to the Test team for the 1960–61 home series against the West Indies, as an opener partnering Colin McDonald. He had a consistent series, scoring 449 runs at 49.44. Simpson figured prominently in the First Test at Brisbane, which was the first Tied Test in history. He scored his highest score to date, 92 in the first innings and took match figures of 3/43, in his first success bowling display at Test level. Simpson continued his all-round form in the next two Shield matches, taking 11 wickets in total, including a 106 and a match total of 7/87 in a ten-wicket win over Victoria.

Simpson saved his best performance for the deciding Test in Melbourne, scoring 75 in the first innings to complement match figures of 3/106. Australia was set 258 for victory in the second innings with the series poised at 1–1. Simpson's captain Richie Benaud instructed him to immediately attack West Indian spearhead Wes Hall at the start of run chase. Hall bowled at extreme pace and Simpson was aiming to seize the initiative. He struck four consecutive boundaries and took 18 runs from the first over, hooking and driving. Simpson scored 92, the top score for the match, and finished with 445 runs at 49.44 for the series.

During the 1961 tour to England, he began his celebrated opening partnership with Bill Lawry, when the Victorian broke into the Australian team. Initially, Simpson was moved into the middle-order so that Lawry could open with McDonald. He broke through for his maiden first-class ton on English soil, striking 148 in an innings win over Oxford University. He ended the lead-in matches with 569 runs at 52.72 and 17 wickets at 30.05 including 4/13 and 3/56 against Surrey and Lancashire. With Benaud continuing to be hampered by his shoulder, Simpson would often bowl heavily throughout the English summer. Simpson started well on his return to the Test middle-order scoring 75 in Australia's only innings of 9/516 in the drawn First Test at Edgbaston.

In the fourth Test he claimed the wicket of Fred Trueman as England collapsed to be all out for 201 on the final afternoon to cede the Ashes. After the triumph at Old Trafford, Simpson had a run of heavy-scoring in the county matches before the final Test, scoring 116, 132 and 6, and 160, ending unbeaten in all but the last innings, against Glamorgan, Warwickshire and Yorkshire. The 1961/62 season was purely domestic and Simpson returned to his native state as they completed a ninth consecutive Sheffield Shield win. Simpson started the 1962/63 season looking to rectify the disparity between his prolific run-scoring at first-class level and his modest returns in the international arena.

Simpson started solidly in the international matches agsinst England, scoring twin half centuries in the drawn First Test in Brisbane, although he was punished with the ball. Simpson produced a match-winning all round performance in the Third Test in front of his home crowd in Sydney to help Australia level the series. On a dry surface where almost the entire square was devoid of grass, Simpson took his Test best innings haul of 5/57, removing specialist batsmen Colin Cowdrey and Geoff Pullar. He ended the series with 401 runs at 44.56 and eight wickets at 46.13. Simpson continued to be prolific away from the Tests, scoring 205 against Western Australia in a Shield match.

New South Welshmen and senior Test players Neil Harvey and Alan Davidson retired at the end of the 1962–63 season, 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. Playing for a Western Australia Combined XI against the touring South Africans at Perth, Simpson and Benaud combined for a 237-run partnership in the second innings, with Simpson making 246, having scored only four in the first innings. The First Test against South Africa at Brisbane was drawn and is remembered for the no-balling of Ian Meckiff, which ended his career as Benaud refused to bowl him again.

Simpson scored half-centuries in both the Third and Fourth Tests and ended the series with 361 runs at 40.11 leading to a 1-1 drawn series. His combination with Lawry consistently propelled Australia to solid starts, posting at least 50 in each of their opening stands. However, he continued to be plagued by an inability to convert his starts into large scores at the highest level of competition. Despite his heavy scoring at first-class level, Simpson was yet to hit a Test century when he arrived with his team in England in 1964.

The first three Tests continued Simpson's frustrating personal run in Test cricket. He made 50 in the First Test at Trent Bridge, but did not pass 30 in the next two Tests, twice falling after reaching 20. Australia led 1–0 after winning the Third Test at Headingley. Simpson and Lawry gave Australia an ideal start with a solid opening partnership, which yielded 201 runs, before Lawry was run out for 106. Simpson then slowly progressed through the 90s before reaching his first Test century. 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. Australia declared at 8/656. Simpson's 13-hour innings was the longest by an Australian at first-class level. He joined Don Bradman as the second Australian to have made a Test triple century in England.

Simpson's safety-first approach was severely criticised - at one stage, six journalists in the press box were seen to be sleeping while he was batting. Simpson defended his tactics, asserting that with a series lead, batting England out of the match was the best way to retain the Ashes. The tactic paid off as the match ended in a high-scoring draw and the Ashes were retained. Despite a persistent thumb injury, Simpson scored 458 runs at 76.33 in the five Tests, and 1,714 runs (including five centuries) for the tour.

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. Simpson continued his consistent performances, scoring 292 runs at 48.67 with three half-centuries in a 1–1 drawn series against India. His best performance was at the drawn Third Test at Eden Gardens in Calcutta where he scored 67 and 71 and took 4/45. At Karachi, Simpson struck 153 and 115 against Pakistan in a drawn Test to become the third captain to hit two centuries in the same Test. He ended the calendar year of 1964 with 1,381 Test runs, setting a world record aggregate.

In 1964/65, Simpson led Australia on a tour of the Caribbean, which was marred by controversies over umpiring standards and the legality of West Indian Charlie Griffith's bowling action. To make life more difficult, some of the grounds had no sightscreens, making it even harder to see the ball. Simpson initially struggled against Griffith, failing to pass 30 in the first three Tests as Australia conceded a 0–2 lead. Simpson scored 201 in the Fourth Test at Barbados, where he set an Australian record opening stand of 382 with Lawry. The match was drawn, but Australia managed a consolation win in the Fifth Test, to which Simpson contributed 72 and 34 not out. His average for 399 runs was 49.88 and he took 11 catches.

Simpson's appearances during the 1965/66 Ashes series were intermittent. He missed the First Test due to a broken wrist,[38] which ended in a draw under the leadership of Booth.[38] He returned for the Second Test at Melbourne, scoring a half-century in both innings of a drawn match. Chickenpox forced him to miss the Third Test, which Australia lost by an innings. It was the first time that Australia had lost by an innings since 1956. On his return for the Fourth Test at Adelaide Simpson made 225, making 244 runs in 255 minutes with Lawry, the highest opening stand by Australia against England and still the highest against England in Australia. Australia claimed a decisive innings victory to level the series and a draw in the Fifth Test allowed Australia to retain the Ashes. Simpson topped the batting averages with 355 runs at 88.75 average.

In 1966/67, Simpson's captaincy was widely criticised when Australia were soundly defeated 1–3 during the tour of South Africa. The series started well for Simpson as he scored 65, 48, 153 and 18 and took eight wickets in the first two Tests at Johannesburg and Cape Town. The series was level after the two matches. However, Australia's performances fell away thereafter, and Simpson 's 94 in the Third Test at Durban was his only other contribution above 40. For the second time, Simpson was ardent in his criticism of the local umpiring during a major tour. During the 1967/68 series against India, Simpson's all-round performances were exceptional. He scored 55 and 103 in the First Test at Adelaide, then scored 109 and took 4/49 in the Second Test at Melbourne. Australia won both Tests, the second by an innings.

After deciding that he would retire at the end of the season, Simpson was omitted for the Third Test so that other players could have international experience before the 1968 tour of England. Retired from Test cricket, Simpson toured England in 1968 as a member of the press gallery and later worked in public relations. When Test cricket was devastated by the breakaway World Series Cricket in 1977, Simpson made a comeback after a decade in retirement to captain New South Wales and Australia at the age of 41. All of Australia's first-choice players had defected apart from Jeff Thomson. Simpson had been playing for Western Suburbs in Sydney Grade Cricket but had not been playing at first-class level for a decade.

His first assignment was a five Test series against India, and Simpson began where he left off a decade earlier. He top-scored with 89 in the second innings of the First Test in Brisbane, before scoring 176 and 39 as Australia won in Perth. Simpson failed to pass double figures in the Third Test in Melbourne, and made 30s in both innings in Sydney, as the Indians won two consecutive Tests to level the series. Simpson responded with 100 and 51 in the deciding Fifth Test in Adelaide as Australia scraped to a 3–2 series victory. Simpson totalled 539 runs at 53.90 and took four wickets.

His players wanted him to continue, but the Australian Cricket Board voted him out and installed Graham Yallop as the skipper. During his comeback, he had accumulated his 60th first-class century against Barbados during the Caribbean tour and become the oldest Australian to score a Test century on home soil.

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. 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. His team 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. The 1991/92 Australian season saw a heavy 4–0 win in a five Test series over India but a failure in the 1992 World Cup - eliminated in the Group stage.

The core group of players cultivated by Simpson went on to strengthen Australia into the overwhelmingly dominant cricketing nation in the decade after his retirement. Under Taylor, Australia consolidated its position with a home series victory against the West Indies in 1996–97 and home and away wins over South Africa in 1997–98 before breaking a 39-year drought with victory in Pakistan. In 1999, Steve Waugh became captain on Taylor's retirement and in his five years as captain set a world record of 41 Test victories, including a world record of 16 consecutively. In 2004, Ricky Ponting, who made his international debut in Simpsons's last season, became captain and whitewashed Sri Lanka in an away series 3–0 and Adam Gilchrist, who filled in for Ricky Ponting for the first three matches of a four test series against India, sealed the series with an unassailable 2–0, lead with Australia eventually defeating India 2–1 on the subcontinent. It sealed Australia's first series win in India for 35 years, described as the "Final Frontier.”

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 made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1978 and upgraded to Officer of the order in 2007. He received an Australian Sports Medal in 2000 and a Centenary Medal in 2001.