Grace, W G

Grace, W(illiam) G(ilbert)

(born July 18, 1848, Downend, Gloucestershire, Eng.—died Oct. 23, 1915, London) Greatest cricketer in Victorian England. Although he practiced medicine, cricket was his first love. Grace evolved the modern principles of batting and achieved many notable performances on rough and unpredictable wickets such as are unknown to modern players. In his career in first-class cricket (1865–1908), Grace scored 54,896 runs, registered 126 centuries (100 runs in a single innings), and, as a bowler, took 2,876 wickets. In 84 matches for Gentlemen versus Players, he amassed 6,000 runs and took 271 wickets. In 1880 he was on the English team that played the first Test match against Australia in England.