Bob Willis, the former England cricket captain, has died at the age of 70 after battling a long illness.
In a statement released by his family, Willis died after suffering from a long illness.
The statement said, “We are heartbroken to lose our beloved Bob, who was an incredible husband, father, brother and grandfather. He made a huge impact on everybody he knew and we will miss him terribly.”
Willis worked as a summarizer on BBC TV and later joined Sky Sports as a cricket commentator in 1991. He continued to work as a commentator for Sky. He was also part of Sky’s coverage of this summer’s Ashes series, which is played between England and Australia.
The England and Wales Cricket Board said it was “deeply saddened to say farewell” to a “legend of English cricket.”
“We are forever thankful for everything he has done for the game. Cricket has lost a dear friend,” the board added.
Willis represented Surrey in the initials days of his career. He also represented Warwickshire for 12 years and took 899 wickets in 308 first-class matches.
Surry cricket club took to Twitter to pay tribute to Willis and wrote the club was “devastated” by the news of his death.
Willis was a fast bowler who took 325 wickets in 90 Tests for England between 1971 and 1984, with a career-best 8-43 against Australia at Headingly in the famous 1981 Ashes series. He was the captain of England for 18 Tests and 29 One-Day Internationals (ODIs). He made his international debut at the age of 21 in 1971. And in 1984, he announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.
