Former England captain Bob Willis has passed away at the age of 70 years after battling a short illness of thyroid cancer. Willis was well known for the 1981 Ashes series in which he was instrumental in the success of England. He had scalped eight wickets for 83 runs in the third Test at Headingley.
Willis had a long career of 13 years spanning from 1971 to 1984 as he featured in 90 Test matches in which he scalped 325 wickets at an impressive average of 25.2. Willis is fourth on the list of highest wicket-getters for England behind James Anderson, Stuart Broad, and Ian Botham. The fast bowler also played 64 One Day Internationals for England.
Willis was one of England’s best.
“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,” Willis’s family said in a statement.
Willis was sobriquet as ‘Goose’ for his loose approach to the crease. The right-arm pacer had the skills to bowl at an express pace and did a fine job for England. Willis’ teammate and friend David Gower gave his tribute.
“I toured with him as a captain and I took over the captaincy from him and then had him as what was called in those days as an assistant manager. He was a very loyal friend and a loyal supporter. Without going into too much unseemly detail, it was an era where you were allowed to have more fun than you are possible today. Various tours Down Under were colorful, let’s put it that way.”
He captained England in 1982 in an ODI series against India and went on to lead the side for two years before he was replaced by David Gower in 1984.
The legendary pacer played 308 FC matches in which he snared 899 wickets at an average of 24.99. Furthermore, Willis also did commentary after his retirement. He is survived by his wife Lauren, daughter Katie, brother David and sister Ann.