Tribute to Bob George Dylan Willis- a true maestro

[Harsh Thakor]

Sadly yesterday Bob George Dylan Willis left for his heavenly abode.His memories are permanently embedded in my mind like a film running within.

 

Willis steaming in from the top of his run was one of cricket's most menacing  sights to behold.In full steam with the new ball he was the ultimate epitome or embodiment of grit and agression personified  ,reminiscent of a boxer.He may not have looked pleasing to the eye like a shire horse,but in essence had the qualities of a beautiful thoroughbred.Few pacemen or arguably no post-1970's  Englishman was as lethal with the new ball.Bob was a master at extracting pace  and bounce in any conditions.He posessed an uncanny or crude action but compensated for it by his fierce workmanlike approach.

 

What was remarkable was his consistency even on dead pitches in India where he captured 20 wickets in 1976-77 and when he had 20 scalps at a most unexpensive average in Australia in 1978-79.In most of his series he rarely averaged more than 25-30  with the ball which is praiseworthy.,be it in India,Pakistan ,New Zealand ,West Indies or Australia.It is also noteworthy that he had more top order btasmen scalps than most fast bowlers,overshadowing Ian Botham in this regard.

 

The most defining moment in his career was his spell of 8-43 in the 2nd innings at Leeds in 1981 versus Australia which ressurected England from the grave or depths of despair to reach the pinnacle of glory.No adjective in the English dictionary could do justice to the relentless spirit or intensity Willis displayed that day reminiscent of a great military commander in the 2nd world war.When charging in he was cocoon of concentration with grit and agression written on his face.I have rarely witnessed such level of ferociity on a cricket field .With the surgical skill of an architect he extracted the uneven bounce on a wicket that was not 'true' for test cricket.I cant visualise a pacemen doing more justice to the given conditions  or performing a task with such clinical perfection.He simply banged the ball in the perfect place like few pacemen ever did,doing exactly the job that the doctor ordered.Wilis was simply cometh the hour cometh the man.

 

Australia were coasting home at 55-1 chasing a meagre  target of 130 before Willis caused the equivalent of one of the most sensational turn or twists in the climax of plot of a Hollywod movie.The scenario was reminiscent of a divine intervention occuring.In the last 2 overs before lunch he removed Trevor Chappell with an unplayable snorter which he fended of to be caught,had Kim Hughes caught in slip with a lifting delivery and Graham Yallop caught as Short leg fending of a rising delivery.These dismissals lit the first spark which turned into a prairie fire.After lunch Willis carried on where he left further tigthening the nose on the Australian batsmen  who were now totally perplexed.He dimsissed John Dyson misjudging a hook,Rod March top edging a flier to Graham Dilley ,Geoff Lawson nicking to the keeper and Lillee holding out to Gatting at mid on.Finally he bowled Ray Bright through the gate to create cricket's most sensational victory or turnabout in the game's history.Even in the minute of glory Willis did not display ecstasy but ran off the field bestowing the same agression or anger when playing, with the media who had literally written him off before the game.In my book this was the best ever spell ever by a bowler in a run chase when you asess the circumstances he lifted England out of adversity .A Hollywood script had been written here .

 

Willis also went on a blitzkreig at Old Trafford in the 5th test of the same 1981 Ashes  in the 1st innings when the Aussies crashed for a mere 130 ,taking 4-63.He accounted fot the scalps of ,Graham Yallop ,Kim Hughes and John Dyson in a single spell.Capturing 29 scalps in that edition of the Ashes Wilis had defined or turned the fate of a test series as few bowlers ever did.

 

My other best memories of Bob was against West Indies at Trent Bridge in 1980.against India at Lords in 1982 and against New Zealand at Leeds in 1983.

 

His spell s of 5-82 and 4-65 at Trent Bridge all but turned the tables at Trent Bridge with the Calypsos evading defeat by the skin of their teeth.A couple of dropped catches robbed England of untold glory in toppling arguably the best tset team ever.The West Indian batsmen looked in agony tackling the disconcerting bounce and pace of Willis who looked as though the spirits posessed him.To me has to rank amongst the best spells ever bowled against the great West Indies team.At Lords versus India he captured 6-103 in the 2nd innings in his debut test as captain ,ripping through the heart of the powerful Indian batting line up.With surgical skill he exploited the ridge at Lords .At Leeds versus New Zealand he bowled one  of cricket's great spells  in a losing cause  when defending a total capturing 5-35..Chasing a meagre 103 the Kiwis lost 5 wickets.Bob also bowled some very effective opening spells against a top class Pakistani batting line up in 1982 which played an important role in his team's series win.

 

Willis captured 325 wickets at an average of 25.20 in 90 tests.In terms of average he performed better than Ian Botham ,Kapil Dev Jeff Thomson or Jimmy Anderson .His strike rate was at 53.6 was around the same as greats like Imran Khan and Wasim Akram and better than those greats like Ian Botham,Andy Roberts or even Courtney Walsh.Arguably it is also because Willis did not carry as much workload with the ball as Botham or Walsh or even Kapil Dev.

 

His place amongst the great English fast bowlers is debatable but without doubt he was amongst the 6 most impact full English pace bowlers of all time.With a new ball perhaps only Trueman,Statham,Snow or Larwood were ahead.

 

As a skipper he had a successful record at home winning 3 successive series from 1982 to 1983 but abroad he had no success.Still he led England to a close series in Pakistan in 1983-84 and in New Zealand in 1984.

 

Bob was also a very fine commentator with very astute  judgement of the game.He rated Viv Richards as the best batsmen he ever bowled to and in his all-ltime XI chose Imran Khan,Glen Mcgrath,Brian Lara,Sachin Tendulkar ,Herbert Suttcliffe .Inspite of being an Englishman he did not select Ian Botham in it.I can never forget the kind words he had for Sunil Gavaskar who he rated very highly and expressed that India deserved to win the 1979 test at the Oval.

 

Above all he was a very affable chracter who always s upheld the spirit of the game and did justice to cricket being a gentleman's sport.The Cricket world will truly thus miss one of its best loved characters.

 

 

Edited December 5, 2019 by Harsh Thakor