He scored a duck and 55 not out, being at the crease as Australia scored the winning runs to take a 1–0 lead in the series. Benaud then informed the Board of Control that he would be retiring at season's end, so it was arranged for Benaud to return to the team and play under Simpson to give the latter experience for the forthcoming tour of England. Australia lost the Fourth Test heavily by ten wickets, the other two matches were drawn, and the series finished 1–1. Simpson scored half-centuries in both the Third and Fourth Tests and ended the series with 361 runs at 40.11 average. His combination with Lawry consistently propelled Australia to solid starts, posting at least 50 in each of their opening stands. However, he continued to be plagued by an inability to convert his starts into large scores at the highest level of competition. He passed 25 in 8 of his 10 innings for the series, but could only manage three fifties. As a captain, Simpson was less willing to bowl, taking only two wickets for the Test series, and only four wickets in seven first-class matches since taking up the top job.