Edgbaston to turn #BlueForBob during July’s England vs India Test in fight against prostate cancer | Cricket News

Edgbaston to turn #BlueForBob during July’s England vs India Test in fight against prostate cancer; the first #BluueForBob day was held at the Birmingham ground last year as Bob, who passed away from prostate cancer in 2019 at the age of 70, was remembered

The Bob Willis Fund was established in Bob’s name to help fund studies into prostate cancer and find earlier and better diagnoses

Edgbaston will once again turn #BlueForBob this summer to raise money for research into prostate cancer, the disease which took the life of England and Sky Sports legend Bob Willis.

Willis passed away in December 2019 at the age of 70, with the Bob Willis Fund established in his name to help fund studies into the illness and find earlier and better diagnoses.

Edgbaston went #BlueForBob during last summer’s one-day international between England and Pakistan, with commentators and supporters decked in blue, the colour of Bob’s beloved Manchester City.

The second #BlueForBob day will take place at Edgbaston on July 2, which is day two of the rearranged fifth Test match between England and India, a game that was postponed last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Willis called Edgbaston his home ground during his spell with Warwickshire between 1972 and 1984, winning the County Championship in his first season with the club after signing from Surrey.

Willis was inducted into the International Cricket Council’s Hall of Fame in 2021

One in eight men in the UK will be affected by prostate cancer but, as yet, there is no comprehensive national screening programme to highlight how aggressive a person’s cancer may be.

Changing that is one of the missions of the Bob Willis Fund, which was co-founded by Willis’ wife Lauren Clark and his brother David.

England and Pakistan players wore blue caps at last year’s ODI at Edgbaston as part of the #BlueForBob day

Willis took 325 wickets in 90 Tests for England – only James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Sir Ian Botham have more – at an average of 25.20.

His most memorable spell came in the Ashes Test at Headingley in July 1981 when he bagged 8-43 to shred Australia and win the game for England.

To make a donation, visit https://bobwillisfund.org/

Bob’s biography – Bob Willis: A Cricketer and a Gentleman – is now available to buy in paperback.