Bob Willis was a right-arm fast bowler, who represented the England cricket team in 90 Tests between 1971 and 1984.^[1][2] In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five-for" or "fifer")^[3] refers to a bowler taking five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded as a notable achievement,^[4] and As of 2017^[update], only 44 bowlers have taken at least 15 five-wicket hauls at international level in their cricketing careers.^[2] In Test cricket, Willis took 325 wickets, including 16 five-wicket hauls.^[1][5] The Wisden Cricketers' Almanack named him one of their cricketers of the year in 1978, and termed him "one of the world's foremost fast bowlers."^[6]

Willis made his Test debut during the fourth Test of the 1970–71 Ashes series, against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground.^[7] His first Test five-wicket haul came in the third Test of the 1974–75 Ashes series at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.^[8] Willis' career-best figures for an innings were 8 wickets for 43 runs—seventh among Top 100 Bowling performances of all time by Wisden^[9]—at Headingley, during the 1981 Ashes series.^[10] He never took ten wickets in a match; his best performance for a match was 9 wickets for 92 runs against New Zealand in 1983 at Headingley.^[11][12] He was most successful against Australia, taking seven five-wicket hauls.^[13]

Willis made his One Day International (ODI) debut against the West Indies at Headingley, during the 1973 Prudential Trophy.^[14] He never took a five-wicket haul in ODIs; his career-best figures for an innings were 4 wickets for 11 runs against Canada during the 1979 Cricket World Cup, a match England won by 8 wickets at Old Trafford.^[15][16] As of 2021^[update], Willis is thirty-ninth overall among all-time combined five-wicket haul takers.^{[n 1]}