Edgbaston once again turned ‘Blue for Bob’ during the first one-day international between England and West Indies in order to raise money for The Bob Willis Fund and research into prostate cancer.
Prostate cancer took the life of legendary England fast bowler and Sky Sports commentator Bob Willis in December 2019 at the age of 70.
On Thursday, May 29, spectators in attendance at Edgbaston and the Sky Sports punditry team wore blue to support the cause.
The Bob Willis Fund was established in Bob’s name by wife Lauren Clark and his brother David to fund research into the illness and raise awareness.
Edgbaston first went Blue for Bob in the one-day international between England and Pakistan in the summer of 2021 and has since raised £1.5m to help support prostate cancer research.
According to Prostate Cancer UK, 12,000 men die of the disease every year in the UK, with 129 men diagnosed daily. One in eight men get prostate cancer, increasing to one in four if you are Black.
On Thursday – as England cruised to a 238-run victory over the West Indies in Harry Brook’s first game as permanent ODI captain – a total of approximately £165,400 was raised for the fund.
Bob’s daughter, Katie Willis, told Sky Sports: “We’re so proud and unbelievably grateful for the support we’ve recieved.
“We are saving lives; men need to have more awareness of prostate cancer. Anything we can do to help is really good.
“There isn’t a national screening programme for prostate cancer, and that’s what we want. Men are not great at going to the doctors, so we need to make it very easy for them.
“Unfortunately the PSA (prostate-antigen) test can sometimes be unreliable; there needs to be a better test and that’s what The Bob Willis Fund is raising money for.
“We want to get a more accurate test, so aggressive forms of the disease – which is what Dad had – can be found earlier and sorted much quicker.”
Edgbaston was Willis’ home ground during his spell with Warwickshire between 1972 and 1984, with Bob winning the County Championship in his first season at the club.
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, while he also captained his country.
Bob’s most memorable spell came in the Ashes Test at Headingley in July 1981 when he took 8-43 to shred Australia and win the game for England.
He became a Sky Sports analyst after retiring, with viewers always enjoying his acerbic take on the game.
For more information and to donate, visit https://bobwillisfund.org
