(Part 1) 1971-1976.
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With less than a full season of county cricket behind him Bob Willis was
called to replace the injured Alan Ward on Ray Illingworth's 1970-71
Ashes tour of Australia, and soon drew attention to himself by claiming
spectacular slip catches on his debut at Melbourne, taking 3-73 there
and 3-58 in Sydney. He did not become the main England new ball bowler
until a 1974-75 Ashes tour, when he took seven wickets in Brisbane and
5-61 in Melbourne. The delay was partly caused by his decision to switch
from Surrey to Warwickshire. He was unable to play in the early months
of the 1972 Ashes series as he became the last England cricketer to sit
out a period of residential qualification for his new county. It took
him some years to develop that long, straight run up which made him so
effective, galloping to the wicket with his arm thrashing at his side,
like a jockey urging on a racehorse. In 1973 he took 4-118 in his only
Test as West Indies ran up 652-8, and he had a best of 3-97 on Mike
Denness' West Indies tour of 1974. He played one Test against each of
India and Pakistan in 1974. He missed the series against Australia in
1975 and the early Tests against the West Indies in 1976, returning at
Headingley where he took 3-71 and 5-42. On the Indian tour of 1976-77 he
took 5-27 in Calcutta and 6-53 in Bangalore. In 1972-73 he toured South
Africa with the D.H.Robin's XI, under the captaincy of his Warwickshire
teammate David Brown. He took 3-78 in the South African innings of the
only unofficial Test in Johannesburg, dismissing Ali Bacher, Ken McEwan
and Don Mackay-Coghill. (Bob Harragan)
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Bob Willis is pictured above on 13th. June 1983. Photo George Herringshaw. ©
(Part 2) 1977-1984.
| Once when he was England captain Bob Willis went out at number 11 and
forgot to take a bat with him. Some said it made little difference, but
despite his regular position at the bottom of the order Willis made
useful contributions. He would frustrate the opposition with whirlwind
slogs, or would defend stoutly if a better batsman was still at the
crease. Yet it was his aggressive fast bowling that got better and
better towards the turn of the decade. Willis set up the Ashes wins of
1977 and 1978-79. At Lord's he had innings figures of 7-78, four wickets
at Old Trafford, 5-88 at Trent Bridge and 5-102 at the Oval, and seemed
able to break through at the beginning of every bowling spell. In
Australia he took nine wickets in Brisbane and 5-44 in Perth. Only just
below the pace of Lillee, Thomson and Holding, he got vicious bounce
from his 6ft 5in and from his short-stride, open-chested action bowled
natural inswing of the kind the Victorians used to call 'the breakback.'
Against West Indies in 1980 he took nine wickets at Trent Bridge. His
8-43 in the second innings of Botham's Test at Headingley in 1981 was
undoubtedly his finest hour. He succeeded to the England captaincy in
1982 and lead England in Australia in 1982-83, taking 18 wickets in the
series, and lead the tour to New Zealand in 1983-84 before injury forced
him to hand over to David Gower. He played his last Tests against West
Indies in 1984. In the 1979 World Cup he took 4-11 against Canada at Old
Trafford. He was captain in 1983 when England got to the semi-final.
(Bob Harragan) |