Outspoken Simpson Hits Out

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31177, 29 September 1966, Page 15

Outspoken Simpson Hits Out

(NZP.A.Reuter —Copyright' The Australian cricket captain, R. B. Simpson, in his book, “Captain’s Story,” has done more than berate the West Indies for their alleged soft attitude over throwers. Throughout his book, Simpson has been frank and outspoken, sparing nobody if he has a grievance. Many of the world’s greatest players have come under his personal lash. Some of his comments include: “LEN HUTTON ... I admired Len as a hard and ruthless captain. I despised the

tactics he used to get his results. When he retained the Ashes for England in 1954-55 he almost nailed up the coffin of cricket for good.

“PETER MAY ... I think May could have been a good captain if the press had left him alone. Peter was almost too nice a person to be a captain. He took to heart many of the things the press said about him. May was a bit too negative.

“TED DEXTER . . . was a paradox. He could be a very great captain or a very ordinary captain. Ted never seemed to concentrate all day on what was going on.

“MIKE SMITH ... not in the same class as a player as May or Dexter but his team is behind him to a man and, to my mind, this makes him a better captain. “GARFIELD SOBERS . . . has the making of a verygood captain ... he cannot fail to become a great captain.” Elsewhere, Simpson describes Hutton as his first “cricketing villain.” He says of Hutton’s 1954-55

team: “I found the English- i men to be an uncompromis- 1 ing bunch on the field, and, ’ with Hutton working on the ! theory that his pace bowlers 1 should not attempt to bowl 1 more than 11 overs an hour, it was far grimmer stuff than 1 anything I have ever experi- J enced. “It was in this match (the first N.S.W. match against : the Englishmen) that Hutton ! became my first cricketing J villain.” Simpson also describes ‘ Sobers as “Stayput Sobers.” . “We found that getting ‘ Sobers out was not just a ‘ matter of taking his wicket—it was a matter of getting him back in the pavilion,” Simpson said. He added that during the tour of the West Indies in 1965 the Australian fieldsmen had realised that “Stayput Sobers needed handling with a little firmness.” The Australians had to tell Sobers he was out, Simpson added. Simpson also berates M. C. Cowdrey for not looking at the umpire when an appeal is made against him. Describing an “unfortunate

walking-non-walking incident” that came up on the English 1965-66 tour of Australia, Simpson said that in the final test at Melbourne, Cowdrey was only 15 when he went for a shot backward of square leg off T. R. Vievers and the ball lodged squarely in A, T.' W. Grout’s gloves. “Everyone near the wicket yelled a confident appeal. Not one of us doubted that the ball had come right off the middle of his bat,” Simpson said. “Colin did not even glance at the umpire but stood his ground as if nothing had hap-

pened. If Colin had other ideas he had the right to stay.

“But whether he considers himself out or not he should at least pay the umpire the compliment of looking at him when there has been an appeal,” Simpson said.