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W. G. Grace qualified as a doctor in 1879 made his first appearance in Test cricket the following year, scoring the first-ever century by an England batsman.
Grace missed a large part of the 1879 season because he was doing the final practical for his medical qualification and, for the first time since 1869, he did not complete 1000 runs, though he did take 105 wickets. [1]
Grace made 18 first-class appearances in 1879, scoring 993 runs, with a highest score of 123, at an average of 38.19 with 3 centuries and 5 half-centuries. In the field, he took 23 catches and 113 wickets with a best analysis of 8–81. His bowling average was 13.19; he had 5 wickets in an innings 14 times and 10 wickets in a match once. [1]
Having qualified as a doctor in November 1879, Grace had to give priority to his new practice in Bristol for the next five years. As a result, his cricket sometimes had to be set aside and he had other troubles including a serious bout of mumps in 1882. From 1879 to 1882, he did not complete 1000 runs in the season. [2]
In addition, Gloucestershire had declined following its heady success in the 1870s. One of the reasons was the early death of W.G.'s younger brother Fred from pneumonia in 1880, there being a view that "the county was never quite the same without him". [3] Apart from W.G. himself, the only players of Fred Grace's calibre at this time were the leading professionals. Unlike the south-east and northern counties, Gloucestershire had neither the large home gates nor the necessary funds that could have secured the services of good quality professionals. This was at a time when a new generation of professionals was appearing with the likes of Billy Gunn, Maurice Read and Arthur Shrewsbury. As a result, Gloucestershire fell away in county competition and could no longer match Nottinghamshire, Surrey and Lancashire who had the strongest sides in the 1880s. [2]
Test cricket began in 1877 when Grace was already 28 and he made his debut in 1880, scoring England's first-ever Test century against Australia. [4] He played for England in 22 Tests through the 1880s and 1890s, all of them against Australia, and was an automatic selection for England at home, but his only Test-playing tour of Australia was that of 1891–92. [5]
Grace made 16 first-class appearances in 1880, scoring 951 runs, with a highest score of 152, at an average of 39.62 with 2 centuries and 5 half-centuries. In the field, he took 17 catches and 84 wickets with a best analysis of 7–65. His bowling average was 17.60; he had 5 wickets in an innings 9 times and 10 wickets in a match 3 times. [1]
Grace made 13 first-class appearances in 1881, scoring 917 runs, with a highest score of 182, at an average of 38.20 with 2 centuries and 5 half-centuries. In the field, he took 20 catches and 57 wickets with a best analysis of 7–30. His bowling average was 18.00; he had 5 wickets in an innings 3 times. [1]
Grace's most significant Test was England v Australia in 1882 at The Oval. [6] Thanks to Spofforth who took 14 wickets in the match, Australia won by 7 runs and the legend of The Ashes was born immediately afterwards. Grace scored only 4 and 32 but he has been held responsible for "firing up" Spofforth. This came about through a typical piece of gamesmanship by Grace when he effected an unsporting, albeit legal, run out of Sammy Jones. [7]
Grace made 22 first-class appearances in 1882, scoring 975 runs, with a highest score of 88, at an average of 26.35 with 0 centuries and 8 half-centuries. In the field, he took 22 catches and 101 wickets with a best analysis of 8–31. His bowling average was 17.34; he had 5 wickets in an innings 8 times and 10 wickets in a match twice. [1]
William Gilbert Grace was an English amateur cricketer who was important in the development of the sport and is widely considered one of its greatest players. He played first-class cricket for a record-equalling 44 seasons, from 1865 to 1908, during which he captained England, Gloucestershire, the Gentlemen, Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the United South of England Eleven (USEE), and several other teams.
Frederick Robert Spofforth, also known as "The Demon Bowler", was arguably the Australian cricket team's finest pace bowler of the nineteenth century. He was the first bowler to take 50 Test wickets, and the first to take a Test hat-trick, in 1879. He played in Test matches for Australia between 1877 and 1887, and then settled in England where he played for Derbyshire. In 2009, he was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame.
George Frederick Grace was an English first-class cricketer active from 1866 to 1880 who played for Gloucestershire and the United South of England Eleven (USEE). He played in one retrospectively recognised Test match for England. He was born in Downend, near Bristol and died in Basingstoke, Hampshire. A right-handed batsman who bowled right arm fast roundarm, he appeared in 195 matches that are generally rated first-class for statistical purposes. In these matches, Grace scored 6,906 runs with a highest score of 189*. An outstanding fielder and occasional wicket-keeper, he held 170 catches and completed three stumpings. He took 329 wickets with a best performance of eight for 43.
The Australia national cricket team toured England in 1884. The team is officially termed the Fourth Australians, following three previous tours in the 1878, 1880 and 1882 seasons. The 1884 tour was a private venture by the thirteen players who each invested an agreed sum to provide funding, none of Australia's colonial cricket associations being involved. Billy Murdoch captained the team and George Alexander acted as player-manager. The Australians played a total of 32 matches in England, 31 of which have first-class status.
Variations in published cricket statistics have come about because there is no official view of the status of cricket matches played in Great Britain prior to 1895 or in the rest of the world prior to 1947. As a result, historians and statisticians have compiled differing lists of matches that they recognise as (unofficially) first-class. The problem is significant where it touches on some of the sport's first-class records, especially in regards to the playing career of W. G. Grace.
Charles Ingram Armitage was an English amateur cricketer, who played first-class cricket for Yorkshire County Cricket Club. Although he appeared only three times, his career spanned six years, from 1873 to 1878. His father-in-law was William Coates, a career soldier.
W. G. Grace is believed to have considered retirement from cricket before the 1878 season after he was seriously injured in a shooting accident the previous autumn which nearly cost him the sight of an eye. Having recovered, he reconsidered and in 1878 played in 33 matches, 24 of which are generally recognised as first-class. His main roles in the season were captain of Gloucestershire County Cricket Club and both match organiser and captain of the United South of England Eleven (USEE). In addition, he represented Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the Gentlemen in the Gentlemen v Players fixture and the South in the North v South series. 1878 was a cold, wet summer and not one of Grace's better seasons as a batsman, but he was very effective in such conditions as a right arm medium pace roundarm bowler and completed a sixth successive "double" by scoring 1,151 runs and taking 152 wickets in the recognised first-class matches.
Walter Raleigh Gilbert was an English amateur cricketer who played first-class cricket for Middlesex and Gloucestershire between 1873 and 1886. A cousin of W. G. Grace, he played for Gloucestershire when, dominated by the Grace family, it was the leading county. Gilbert's best season was 1876, when he scored 205 not out for the county, but he was subsequently less successful. Closely connected with the United South of England Eleven, a professional touring team of which he eventually became secretary, Gilbert was financially affected by a declining interest in such teams. With insufficient income to continue as an amateur he became a professional in 1886, but played only one match before he was caught stealing from teammates in a minor match, ending his first-class career. After serving a 28-day prison sentence Gilbert moved to Canada, where he worked for the Land Titles Office in Calgary while remaining a prominent cricketer. He died aged 70 in 1924, but for nearly 60 years after his death, there seemed to be a conspiracy of silence over his fate.
W. G. Grace established his reputation in 1864 and, by 1870, was widely recognised as the outstanding player in English cricket.
W. G. Grace played in 31 matches in the 1895 English cricket season, 29 of which are recognised as first-class.
Following his "Indian Summer" in 1895, W.G. Grace continued to play first-class cricket through his fiftieth birthday in 1898 and finally severed his connections with both Gloucestershire and England in 1899.
W.G. Grace was mainly associated with the new London County Cricket Club during this period. His first-class career ended in 1908 when he was nearly 60.
Following his father's death in December 1871, W. G. Grace increased his involvement with the United South of England Eleven (USEE) in order to provide more income for his mother, with whom he and his younger brother Fred were still living. Grace continued to play regularly for Gloucestershire and Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and, when required, by the Gentlemen. In the late summer of 1872, he toured North America with a team of players who all had amateur status. In the 1873 season, he performed his first season "double" of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets.
W. G. Grace played in 32 matches in the 1871 English cricket season, 25 of which are recognised as first-class. His main roles in 1871 were as captain of Gloucestershire County Cricket Club and as both match organiser and captain of the United South of England Eleven (USEE). In addition, he represented Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the Gentlemen in the Gentlemen v Players fixture and the South in the North v South series.
Having toured Australia the previous winter, W.G. Grace's team landed in England on 18 May 1874 and he was quickly back into domestic cricket. The 1874 season was very successful for him as he completed a second successive "double". Gloucestershire again had a strong claim to the Champion County title although some sources have awarded it to Derbyshire and Grace himself said that it should have gone to Yorkshire. Grace made 21 first-class appearances in 1874, scoring 1,664 runs, with a highest score of 179, at an average of 52.00 with 8 centuries and 2 half-centuries. In the field, he held 35 catches and 140 wickets with a best analysis of 7–18. His bowling average was 12.71; he had 5 wickets in an innings 17 times and 10 wickets in a match 9 times.
One of the most outstanding phases of W. G. Grace’s career occurred in the 1876 season, beginning with his career highest score of 344 for MCC v Kent at Canterbury in August. Two days after his innings at Canterbury, he made 177 for Gloucestershire v Nottinghamshire; and two days after that 318 not out for Gloucestershire v Yorkshire, these two innings against counties with exceptionally strong bowling attacks including Alfred Shaw, Fred Morley, Tom Emmett and Allen Hill. Thus, in three consecutive innings Grace scored 839 runs and was only out twice.
W. G. Grace played mostly for Gloucestershire County Cricket Club and Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) during the four seasons from 1883 to 1886. He also represented England and shared his highest Test partnership in 1886, the same season in which he achieved his career-best bowling analysis.
W. G. Grace played mostly for Gloucestershire County Cricket Club and Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) during the five seasons from 1887 to 1891. He also represented England in Test cricket.
W. G. Grace played mostly for Gloucestershire County Cricket Club and Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) during the five seasons from 1887 to 1891. He also represented England in Test cricket.
The match between Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and the First Australians, at Lord's on Monday, 27 May 1878, is the lowest scoring completed first-class match on record. It was a media sensation which radically altered English perception of Australian cricketers and was hailed in years to come as "(the match which) marked the commencement of the modern era of cricket".