- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Allan Border, Stuart Law, Jimmy Maher … um, Chris Simpson? The recent list of Bulls captains may include a who’s who of Queensland cricket. But cynics would suggest the most recent entry is best summed up by “who’s that?”
As Queensland’s fifth choice allrounder, Simpson doesn’t have to be told that his selection as Bulls captain this season has raised eyebrows.
A son of a mathematician, Simpson can see how his numbers just don’t add up to the outsider looking in.
He averages 23.48 with the bat and a whopping 81.45 with his off-spin in first class cricket.
His one-day batting average barely nudges 12.
It’s a record hardly awash with big scores or wicket hauls – it’s more like a Simpson desert.
But Queensland Cricket have seen something in Simpson that statistics can’t measure – heart.
And the 26-year-old knows he will have to show plenty as the new Bulls skipper.
“Stuey Law and Jimmy Maher had their doubters, they had pressure moments where they succeeded,” Simpson told AAP.
“That’s my intention, to succeed under pressure.
“That way in 10 years’ time hopefully I will be put on the same pedestal as they are.”
Queensland sure knows how to produce an allrounder.
Andrew Symonds, Shane Watson, James Hopes and most recently Ashley Noffke have kept the Bulls production line rumbling along.
The depth has ensured Simpson has racked up just 27 games since his 2002-03 first class debut.
Yet Simpson has been entrusted with leading the Bulls out of one of their darkest periods.
“I am aware that certain questions come up,” he said.
“They will always doubt you when you first take on a job.
“There’s no point worrying about that. You face it, admit to it.
“The best way you can gain the respect of your peers and followers is performing under pressure, which is what sport is all about.”
So far so good.
Simpson showed he loved a scrap last season, sharing in crucial stands with Noffke in back to back Pura Cup games.
He notched tons in successive matches with a memorable 120 in a 192-run stand with Noffke at the SCG last October – against a Test-strength NSW attack that boasted Brett Lee, Nathan Bracken, Stuart Clark and Stuart MacGill.
Bulls selectors liked what they saw.
Barely a fortnight later he was filling in for the injured Maher as Queensland skipper.
Maher had batted all day to notch 111 against Western Australia at the WACA, but damaged his hamstring and couldn’t go on.
In his mind there was no doubt who he would turn to.
“I remember that game in Perth. Justin Langer described Jimmy’s hundred as the best first class innings he had ever seen,” Simpson said.
“The next morning Jimmy walked over to me during the warm-up and said ‘Simmo you’ve got the job’, I didn’t have a chance to say yes or no.
“It was something that was sprung on me, so I just knuckled down.”
Simpson captained the Bulls for two one day games last November – and won them both.
He acknowledges that taking over the Bulls after their worst season in 55 years without the likes of retired greats Maher and Michael Kasprowicz is daunting.
But Simpson has a pretty decent support network.
Maher – a man who summed up the Bulls passion to so many – is in constant contact.
“I will never forget the last day Jimmy played for Queensland against South Australia,” Simpson said.
“I remember him coming into the dressing room, sitting in his corner. It was a chilling experience, just to see what the Queensland cricket team meant to him.
“We always knew how passionate he was, and it is something that I have learned a lot from.”
And then there’s Stuart Law.
Like most excited Queensland kids, Simpson lovingly tore out a souvenir poster from the local newspaper in 1995 with Law holding aloft the Sheffield Shield for the first time.
“The poster said ‘It’s Ours’. I will never forget that,” Simpson smiled.
By 15 Simpson was making his Brisbane grade debut alongside Law for Wynnum-Manly.
Law is still a mentor to Simpson – but mostly just a good friend.
Both Maher and Law are never short of advice, however, Simpson knows he will have to figure a lot out himself.
“There’s been a succession of Queensland legends who have captained this team and I am fortunate enough to have a very good relationship with two of them – Jimmy and Stuart Law,” he said.
“The advice they have passed on has been great and I have all the knowledge and support that I need at my fingertips.
“But I also need to learn for myself. I need to develop my own brand as a Queensland captain.”
Build your own fantasy cricket team and put it to the test with Draftstars daily fantasy competitions. Pick your match, pick your team and watch the points roll in to take out cash prizes on each match. What are you really gambling with? Set a deposit limit.