Bob Willis was a right-arm fast bowler, who represented the England cricket team in 90 Tests between 1971 and 1984. [1] [2] In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five-for" or "fifer") [3] refers to a bowler taking five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded as a notable achievement, [4] and As of 2017 [update] , only 44 bowlers have taken at least 15 five-wicket hauls at international level in their cricketing careers. [2] In Test cricket, Willis took 325 wickets, including 16 five-wicket hauls. [1] [5] The Wisden Cricketers' Almanack named him one of their cricketers of the year in 1978, and termed him "one of the world's foremost fast bowlers." [6]
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Willis made his Test debut during the fourth Test of the 1970–71 Ashes series, against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground. [7] His first Test five-wicket haul came in the third Test of the 1974–75 Ashes series at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. [8] Willis' career-best figures for an innings were 8 wickets for 43 runs—seventh among Top 100 Bowling performances of all time by Wisden [9] —at Headingley, during the 1981 Ashes series. [10] He never took ten wickets in a match; his best performance for a match was 9 wickets for 92 runs against New Zealand in 1983 at Headingley. [11] [12] He was most successful against Australia, taking seven five-wicket hauls. [13]
Willis made his One Day International (ODI) debut against the West Indies at Headingley, during the 1973 Prudential Trophy. [14] He never took a five-wicket haul in ODIs; his career-best figures for an innings were 4 wickets for 11 runs against Canada during the 1979 Cricket World Cup, a match England won by 8 wickets at Old Trafford. [15] [16] As of 2021 [update] , Willis is thirty-ninth overall among all-time combined five-wicket haul takers. [n 1]
