lbw against John Shaw after he had been hit in the head by a low bouncer from Pat Crawford, whereas his teammates were busy coming to the aid of the injured batsman. Simpson said "I was a naturally ambitious person anyway and never had any doubts I could go further. It sounds cocky but I always believed in my own talents." At 12, he was selected for New South Wales in the Under-14 Competition. He switched to leg spin at the age of thirteen, and a week after turning 15 he was playing for Petersham's First XI in Sydney Grade Cricket after hitting string of centuries in the under-16 competition. Simpson had his first taste of first-class cricket as a slips fieldsman, having previously fielded on the boundary. Coming on as 12th man, Keith Miller casually pointed him to the slips, which in that era was against convention, as substitutes were expected to not field in close catching positions. He took two diving catches to establish his position in the cordon. First-class debut He was still 11 days shy of his seventeenth birthday when he was selected to make his Sheffield Shield debut as a middle order batsman for New South Wales against Victoria in the 1952–53 season. He had played only 12 first grade matches prior to this. When he arrived to meet his teammates, Australian vice-captain Arthur Morris asked him where his nappies were. At the age of 16 years and 354 days, this made him the second youngest cricketer to be capped for New South Wales, just three months older than teammate Ian Craig when he made his debut. He scored 44 and 8, without being dismissed in either innings. According to Haigh, "Great protectiveness was felt towards such a boy among men." From the last ball of a drawn match, Simpson attempted to run two, but his misjudgment saw him caught short by half the pitch. Nevertheless, umpire Hugh McKinnon turned down the appeal, and after Victorian captain Sam Loxton reacted angrily, the arbiter said "it's the last ball of the game and his first match". Simpson took his maiden wicket during the match, catching Test player Ian Johnson from his own bowling. Simpson then scored 69 in the next match against South Australia, his only other innings and match for the season. The 1953–54 season was a purely domestic one, with no international team touring.