Bob Willis

Bob Willis is a former cricket player. Bob Willis represented England’s national team, Warwickshire County Cricket Club, and Northern Transvaal Team. His exceptional bowling abilities led to his being selected for Surrey Schools and the Surrey Colts.

Willis was a right-arm fast bowler who was known for his aggressive quick bowling, which left batters gasping for air.

Furthermore, he was a formidable opponent on the circle ground.

Childhood, Cricket, and Education

Bob Willis was born on May 30, 1949, in Sunderland, County Durham to Ted Willis and his wife, Anne Huntington Willis.

His father worked for the BBC as a news executive and subsequently as a radio sub-editor.

Willis also had an elder sister, whose name is unknown, and a brother named David.

Furthermore, Bob and David spent the entire day in their garden playing cricket.

He attended Royal Grammar School in Guildford as a child.

Willis also played football while he wasn’t playing cricket. However, he was uninterested in rugby, the most popular sport at his school.

Willis had the middle name “Dylan” added to his name in 1965 at his own request because he was a major fan of the musician Bob Dylan.

Furthermore, his exceptional bowling abilities led to his being selected for Surrey Schools and the Surrey Colts.

As a result, Watcyn Evans, who later became a close friend, guided him.

Net Worth

Bob Willis has a net worth of $2 million.

Facts of Bob Willis

Amateur Career

Willis traveled to Pakistan with the Surrey and Middlesex Young Cricketers. As a result, he took advantage of the opportunity to improve his talents and become a better bowler.

Bob joined Surrey’s second XI after his return and, at the age of 19, took a wicket against Worcestershire’s Seconds squad.

He met Glamorgan two days after that match and grabbed three wickets. He appeared in a number of games for the Second XIs.

Then, in August of 1969, he made his first-ever appearance in a first-class team. In his debut encounter, he grabbed three wickets for thirteen runs in thirteen overs in his first innings.

Willis grabbed 22 wickets in six first-class matches during that season. Furthermore, this placed him in the top 15 of England’s national average.

Willis received a second season at the Surrey’s thanks to his outstanding performance the previous season. Willis appeared in 14 championship games in 1970.

He took 40 wickets at a run rate of 28.37 in the aforementioned matches, and thirty-one wickets at 14.65 in one-day matches. Surrey finished fifth in the competition that year.

National Team of Australia

One of the most memorable games came against Middlesex in the Gillette Cup quarter-finals. With 5 wickets gone, Surrey had a total of 280.

Middlesex won the game, however, Willis bowled brilliantly and turned the game around, reducing Middlesex to 272 for 9 wickets. For the same, Willis was named Man of the Match.

Willis agreed to come to Australia and join the National Team after the captain and vice-captain of the English Test Team approached him over the phone.

Willis was overjoyed since he had been considering getting a job at the Crystal Palace Recreation Center for the winter after Surrey had kept him on the bench several times.

International Career Beginnings

When Bob was called upon to fill in for the injured Alan Ward during England’s 1970-72 tour of Australia, he seized the opportunity.

Willis represented Marylebone Cricket Club in a number of warm-up matches. As a result, England won the test series, according to The Wisden.

“Bob Wills’ contagious energy and team spirit were key factors in Australia’s demise.”

Willis made his test debut in the fourth match of the same series, scoring fifteen runs without being dismissed.

England batted first and amassed a 332-run total. Against Ashley Mallet, he also claimed his maiden test wicket of the campaign.

Willis shone in the last two matches, taking three wickets in the last series and four in the second, helping England win the series.

Willis had 12 wickets and numerous vital catches at the end of the test series. In the following test match series in New Zealand, he also took two wickets.

Following his performance in both test series, he returned to Surrey and assisted the squad in winning the Championship that year.

Because of the growing misunderstanding between them, he elected not to renew his contract with the team after it expired.

He also turned down offers from Leicestershire and Lancashire to play for Warwickshire.

As a result, his outstanding performance yielded instant results, with him taking 25 wickets. Willis even grabbed five wickets in one inning, which is still a feat for any bowler today.

As a result, he assisted the squad in winning the 1972 championship and became one of the few players to win titles with multiple county teams.

As a result, Willis’ 1973 season was marred by injury. Despite this, he took 43 wickets during the Championship.

However, due to his injury, he was unable to play in the Test match against the West Indies Cricket Team.

He had to take many painkilling injections to reduce the pain and get back to work during the 1974/75 season since the injury persisted.

Other cricketers with Bob

Willis had to return to England to be treated for the same injury. Not only that, but he had much surgery and was left with a blood clot thereafter.

He also had to do strenuous exercises and gym programs to recover from the surgeries, which helped him gradually improve and build stamina.

Mohammed Ali and Bob

In addition, Willis was present at all of England’s matches throughout the World Cup Series. However, he did not perform a really good job.

As a result, he only managed to take six wickets at a run rate of over 74 runs. As a result, he was named captain of the Warwickshire county club.

Captaincy and Career Advancement

Willis then played in two One-Day Internationals against the West Indies, though only for one game, in which he took two wickets and made two catches.

Willis faced the West Indies squad again the following year for four matches, taking over 10 wickets. As a result, England dropped the game in the series.

Willis also grabbed 27 wickets for 31.70 runs in county cricket. He took 23 wickets in the ODI series throughout that season.

Following that, Bob was named captain of the English National Team for an ODI match against India in 1982.

He took two wickets and assisted in a run-out as a consequence. Willis completed his debut captaincy with success, as England won both games against India.

Willis then led the English squad to Australia for the 1982-83 Ashes series. Due to his injuries, he was unable to complete the game, and his teammate was forced to assume captaincy.

After Cricket

Willis decided to join the BBC TV Cricket and summarize for Chanel after retiring from cricket.

Later, in 1990, he joined Sky Sports as a commentator but was quickly demoted from front-line duties.

Willis, on the other hand, did not have the same success as a cricketer as a pundit, since he was frequently chastised for his “melancholic style” and other flaws.

Wife, and Personal Life

To begin, Bob Willis married his first wife, Juliet Smail, in 1980, and the couple had a daughter together in 1984.

They did, however, divorce in 2005. After that, in 2014, Bob married Lauren Clark, his second wife.

He was a passionate supporter and follower of Manchester United Football Club because he spent his childhood in Manchester.

Bob was such a big supporter that he went to both the Maine Road match in 1954 and the FA Cup Final against Newcastle United in 1955.

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Height

Bob Willis stands 6 feet 6 inches tall.

Cancer

After a long fight with prostate cancer, Bob passed away.

On December 4, 2019, he passed away at the age of 70.

When he retired in 1984, he had played 90 Tests for England and had taken a then-record 325 wickets.