Bob Willis RIP

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pavarotti1980

Original Poster:

4,837 posts

83 months

Wednesday 4th December 2019
quotequote all
Sky News reporting Bob Willis has died after a short illness

https://www.skysports.com/cricket/news/12123/11878...

Keoparakolo

987 posts

53 months

Wednesday 4th December 2019
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Wow, one of my heroes when growing up. I’ll never forget that match at Headingley, an enduring memory of him and cricket.

RIP Captain Bob

pavarotti1980

Original Poster:

4,837 posts

83 months

Wednesday 4th December 2019
quotequote all
Never will an England batting collapse be the same without his stinging criticism in the studio

Cheib

23,113 posts

174 months

Wednesday 4th December 2019
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Wow.....never forget that 8 for at Headingley. That spell would be in a very short list for greatest spell of fast bowling by an English bowler that I’ve seen. He was the last proper quick bowler England had for an awfully long time. He wasn’t on the recent Sky coverage (The Debate) of the NZ Tour so maybe he’s been ill for a while.

anonymous-user

53 months

Wednesday 4th December 2019
quotequote all
pavarotti1980 said:
Sky News reporting Bob Willis has died after a short illness

https://www.skysports.com/cricket/news/12123/11878...
Says a long illness in the report.

They'll need a lot of space to give him the run-up he needs in the other place!

SydneyBridge

8,500 posts

157 months

Wednesday 4th December 2019
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RIP Bob

Same as above for Headingly, steaming in from the boundary, what bowler

Googie

1,071 posts

125 months

Wednesday 4th December 2019
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garyhun said:
They'll need a lot of space to give him the run-up he needs in the other place!
Quite- very sad news- remember him bowling at Lords when commentator said if he went back another 2 yards he could get a push off from the fence

Dermot O'Logical

2,547 posts

128 months

Wednesday 4th December 2019
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Headingley 1981 wasn't all about Ian Botham, it also belonged to R.G.D. Willis.

He was truly in "the zone" and Australia were ritually slaughtered in a match that they couldn't lose, but did.

RIP Bob. Your place in English cricket folklore is assured.

Mark-C

5,010 posts

204 months

Wednesday 4th December 2019
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Headingley 1981 ... Botham & Dilley kept us in it but Willis won it.

I also aways loved his exaggerated forward defensive stroke, his long curving run up and his despairing (borderline angry) analysis once he stopped playing.

RIP

Cheib

23,113 posts

174 months

Wednesday 4th December 2019
quotequote all
R.G.D WIillis indeed....from an era when every schoolboy knew the initials of all the test match team

G.A. Gooch
D.I, Gower
I.T. Botham
R.W. Taylor (how many times did he and WIllis bat together ?!?!)
J.K. Lever (I’m an Essex boy)
G.R. Dilley

etc etc

GloverMart

11,773 posts

214 months

Wednesday 4th December 2019
quotequote all
Cheib said:
R.G.D WIillis indeed....from an era when every schoolboy knew the initials of all the test match team

G.A. Gooch
D.I, Gower
I.T. Botham
R.W. Taylor (how many times did he and WIllis bat together ?!?!)
J.K. Lever (I’m an Essex boy)
G.R. Dilley

etc etc
hehe

How true that is. As a Somerset fan, I could add B.C.Rose, C.H.Dredge and P.W.Denning to that list.

ETA - his action would be the one I'd try to copy in the local rec however due to my state of fitness, I could only manage a three ball over! Incredible run up but oh my word, would he ever steam in like an express train!!

Seventy

5,500 posts

137 months

Wednesday 4th December 2019
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Cheib said:
G.R. Dilley
They can open the bowling together upstairs now.
RIP. Great, great cricketer.

Blue62

8,749 posts

151 months

Wednesday 4th December 2019
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Seventy said:
They can open the bowling together upstairs now.
RIP. Great, great cricketer.
I started a thread in NPE it want to add my condolences here. I’m absolutely shocked, gave all of us some great cricketing moments.

Gandahar

9,600 posts

127 months

Friday 6th December 2019
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frown

Bothams ashes was also Bobs


Cheib

23,113 posts

174 months

Friday 6th December 2019
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Dermot O'Logical said:
Headingley 1981 wasn't all about Ian Botham, it also belonged to R.G.D. Willis.

He was truly in "the zone" and Australia were ritually slaughtered in a match that they couldn't lose, but did.

RIP Bob. Your place in English cricket folklore is assured.
Well I’ve learnt something I never knew...the “D” was for Dylan....he changed his name by dead poll because he loved Bob Dylan! Some great coverage out there....the TMS Podcast is excellent and Atheron’s piece in The Times is also very good. Reading the latter it’s clear that he’d been ill for some time Atherton mentioned that there was a lunch for him and a few friends at the end of The Ashes before having another round of chemo.

It’s great to know that his privacy was respected, had no idea he’d been ill for what seems like quite a while.

john2443

6,325 posts

210 months

Saturday 7th December 2019
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In case you haven't watched it!

8-43

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtPw_Ztlm_Q

aeropilot

34,299 posts

226 months

Sunday 8th December 2019
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GloverMart said:
Cheib said:
R.G.D WIillis indeed....from an era when every schoolboy knew the initials of all the test match team

G.A. Gooch
D.I, Gower
I.T. Botham
R.W. Taylor (how many times did he and WIllis bat together ?!?!)
J.K. Lever (I’m an Essex boy)
G.R. Dilley

etc etc
hehe

How true that is. As a Somerset fan, I could add B.C.Rose, C.H.Dredge and P.W.Denning to that list.
A.P.E. Knott is the one I always remember smile


Cheib

23,113 posts

174 months

Monday 9th December 2019
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john2443 said:
In case you haven't watched it!

8-43

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtPw_Ztlm_Q
Thanks for posting that....long time since I’ve watched that session of play. Apart from that last wicket for some reason the one that really sticks in my mind is Dilley’s catch on the boundary. Also what was interesting is how aggressive England were with their fielding positions....five slips and a short leg when Willis started taking the wickets. If Archer was bowling today with 120 runs on the board I doubt we’d have more than two slips.

Kettmark

901 posts

152 months

Monday 9th December 2019
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One of Bob's best quotes on sky a few years ago following a familiar england batting collapse:
'donkeys, carthorses, call them what you will'

Brilliant. Like his bowling.