New Delhi: Former Australia captain and coach Bob Simpson died at the age of 89. He was born in Sydney and in 1957 he first toured with the Australian team. Simpson played 62 Test matches captaining 39 of them. He scored 4869 runs and took 71 wickets. Under his captaincy Australia won 12 Test matches. What was his cricket career? Simpson had a long and memorable career. He scored his first Test century in 1964 at Old Trafford and converted it into a triple century (311 runs). He was the first captain to score a triple century in Test cricket. This record remained in his name for 61 years which was broken by South Africas Wiaan Mulder in 2025. When and why did he return to the field? Simpson retired from cricket after 1967 but in 1977 at the age of 41 he was persuaded to take charge of the team. During the World Series Cricket the team was scattered and his return gave stability to Australia. During this time he also scored two centuries and performed brilliantly. Why was the coach special? Simpson became Australias first full-time coach. Under his guidance Australia won the first World Cup in 1987. He groomed many legendary players like Shane Warne and took the team to new heights. His coaching tenure is considered the golden era of Australian cricket. What were his achievements? Bob Simpson scored 21029 runs in first-class cricket including 60 centuries and 349 wickets. He was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985. Cricket Australia and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described his contribution as service to be remembered for generations.