Former Australia Test captain and the team’s first full-time coach, Bob Simpson, has died in Sydney at the age of 89, ESPN reported.

Simpson, among the most influential figures in Australian cricket, played 62 Tests between 1957 and 1978, scoring 4,869 runs at 46.81 with 10 centuries, all as captain, and taking 71 wickets with his leg spin.

He was also acclaimed as one of the finest slip fielders of his generation. In first-class cricket, he finished with 21,029 runs and 349 wickets.

Initially retiring in 1968 after 50 Tests, 29 as captain, Simpson was dramatically recalled in 1977 at age 41 during the World Series Cricket split. He led Australia through crisis, captaining in 10 Tests against India and the West Indies. His highest Test score, 311 against England at Old Trafford in 1964, remains a landmark innings.

As coach from 1986 to 1996, Simpson helped engineer Australia’s transformation from strugglers to a dominant force.

Working alongside Allan Border, he instilled discipline and professionalism, shaping a core that included Steve Waugh, David Boon, Dean Jones, Craig McDermott and Merv Hughes. Later, he oversaw the rise of Shane Warne, Ricky Ponting and Mark Taylor.

Under Simpson’s tenure, Australia won the 1987 World Cup, regained the Ashes in 1989, and defeated the West Indies in 1995 to become the world’s top-ranked Test team. Many players, including Warne, credited him as the best coach they ever had.

“Bob Simpson was one of the greats of Australian cricket and this is a sad day for anyone fortunate to have watched him play or who benefited from his wisdom,” Cricket Australia chair Mike Baird said in tribute.

Simpson later coached Leicestershire and Lancashire in county cricket, worked as an advisor with India and Rajasthan, and even guided the Netherlands to the 2007 World Cup.

Honoured as Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1965, he was inducted into the ICC and Australian cricket halls of fame. He was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2007 for his services to the game.