Robert George Dylan Willis MBE (born Robert George Willis on 30 May 1949), known as Bob Willis, is an English former cricketer, who played for Surrey, Warwickshire, Northern Transvaal and England. A right-handed and aggressive fast bowler with a notably long run-up, Willis spearheaded several England bowling attacks between 1971 and 1984, across 90 Test matches in which he took 325 wickets at 25.20 runs per wicket, at the time second only to Dennis Lillee. He is currently England's fourth leading wicket taker, behind James Anderson, Ian Botham, and Stuart Broad. Willis took 899 first-class wickets overall, although from 1975 onwards he bowled with constant pain, having had surgery on both knees. He nevertheless continued to find success, taking a Test career best eight wickets for 43 runs in the 1981 Ashes series against Australia, one of the all-time best Test bowling performances. He was Wisden Cricketer of the Year for 1978.

Bob Willis
MBE

Willis on the commentary team at Taunton, 2007
Personal information
Full name	Robert George Dylan Willis
Born	(1949-05-30) 30 May 1949 (age 69) Sunderland, County Durham, England
Height	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm fast
Role	Bowler
International information
National side	England
Test debut (cap 448)	9 January 1971 v Australia
Last Test	16 July 1984 v West Indies
ODI debut (cap 26)	5 September 1973 v West Indies
Last ODI	4 June 1984 v West Indies
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1969–1971	Surrey
1970–1977	Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC)
1972–1984	Warwickshire
1972/73	Northern Transvaal
Career statistics
Competition Tests ODI FC LA Matches 90 64 308 293 Runs scored 840 83 2,690 615 Batting average 11.50 10.37 14.30 9.46 100s/50s 0/0 0/0 0/2 0/1 Top score 28* 24 72 52* Balls bowled 17,357 3,595 47,990 14,983 Wickets 325 80 899 421 Bowling average 25.20 24.60 24.99 20.18 5 wickets in innings 16 0 34 4 10 wickets in match 0 0 2 n/a Best bowling 8/43 4/11 8/32 7/32 Catches/stumpings 39/– 22/– 134/– 84/–
Source: CricketArchive, 7 December 2007

In addition to the Test arena, Willis played 64 One Day International matches for his country, taking 80 wickets, and was a prolific List-A (one day) cricketer with 421 wickets overall at 20.18. With the bat, Willis made little impression as a tail-ender with a best Test score of 28 not-out (*); however, he managed two half-centuries at first-class level and for a time held a record number of Test not-outs. Willis captained the England team in 18 Tests and 28 ODI matches between June 1982 and March 1984. Under Willis' captaincy England won seven, lost five and drew six Tests, and won 16 of the ODIs. Botham recalled Willis as "a tremendous trier.. a great team-man and an inspiration", as well as the "only world-class fast bowler in my time as an England player." The editor of Wisden wrote of him in similar terms: "His indomitable service to England is handsomely reflected in his great collection of Test wickets. Although often beset with aches and pains, he never spared himself when bowling for his country."

Retiring in 1984 during a Test series against the West Indies, Willis found later work as a commentator with Sky Sports. He formed a noted commentary partnership with Botham; however, Willis' relatively low-key style, in contrast to Botham's ebullience, meant that from 2006 onwards Willis tended to be used as a second string commentator. He remains an often-heard broadcaster, a published writer and an occasional critic of the modern game.