A few days later in the Second Test at Melbourne, with Benaud still absent, Simpson led Australia for the first time. Simpson's appointment to the top job raised eyebrows in some quarters, as he had a reputation for being abrasive, and others had been more successful and experienced at domestic level. Lawry had led Victoria to the Sheffield Shield in 1962–63 and Western Australia's Barry Shepherd had also been praised for his aggressive and bold leadership. At the time Simpson had scored only 1246 runs at 32.78 and taken 22 wickets at 39.40 in 23 Tests and had not scored a century.