Bobby Simpson to speak at Otago Cricket dinner

Australian cricketing icon Bob Simpson will be the guest speaker at Otago Cricket's annual dinner in mid-April.

Simpson played 62 Tests for Australia in a career which spanned two distinct eras. After appearing on 52 occasions between 1957/58 and 1967/68, Simpson came out of retirement a decade later at the age of 41 to lead Australia to series wins over India and the West Indies.

His recall was forced by the advent of Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket which split the Australian game in two. Simpson scored the last of his 10 Test centuries in the fifth and final Test of the home series against in India at Adelaide in 1977/78, a score pivotal to Australia taking the Test and the series 3-2.

Simpson's first century was his highest, 311 against England in the fourth Test of the 1964 Ashes series in Manchester, and he is just one of four Australian players to score a triple-century at Test level. Don Bradman (twice), Bob Cowper and Mark Taylor are the others.

In his 62 matches Simpson scored 4869 runs at an average of 46.81, he recorded 27 50s to compliment his 10 centuries, took 71 wickets and snared 110 catches.

After retiring a second time Simpson coached New South Wales before embarking on a spectacularly successful decade as Australian coach before taking his talents offshore. He is still involved in coaching today.

Otago Cricket's event manager Steve Davie says it is especially fitting to have Simpson involved in this year's dinner with the function to be held in honour of the elite '300 Club'.

There are just five members of this club - being New Zealand batsmen who have scored 300-plus runs in an innings, either for their province or for New Zealand. All five were Otago representatives at the time of their feat, creating an exclusive and unique group.

The five are Roger Blunt (338* for Otago v Canterbury in 1931/32), Bert Sutcliffe (385 for Otago v Canterbury in 1952/53 and 355 for Otago v Auckland in 1949/50), Glenn Turner (311* for Worcestershire v Warwickshire in 1982 - that score also registering his 100th first-class century), Ken Rutherford (317 for New Zealand v DB Close XI in 1986) and Mark Richardson (306 for New Zealand v Zimbabwe 'A' in 2000/01).

"It will be a fitting tribute to our players to have one of Australia's greatest and world's best players present to celebrate this special occasion," Davie told CricInfo.

"With Bob Simpson himself scoring a triple century his presence will cap the evening superbly."

Part of the dinner will comprise the presentation of Test Black Caps to Turner, Rutherford and Richardson and to the families of Blunt and Sutcliffe. Iain Gallaway, the doyen of radio broadcasters in this country and a recent president of New Zealand Cricket, will be one of the evening's special hosts as will Jeremy Coney.

A book, written by CricInfo editor Lynn McConnell, honouring the exploits of the five '300 Club' members will be launched at the dinner.