Cricket equipment � champions � W G Grace

The legendary WG Grace carried his cricket equipment into battles that saw him emerge as a champion

A Victorian legend

For a man who played his cricket in an era of poor pitches and limited preparation, W G Grace was a phenomenon. Over the course of 43 years, William Gilbert scored 54,896 first-class runs, 126 centuries and took 2,876 wickets. T he allure of playing the Australians saw him take the step up in class to Test cricket at the age of 32, and he scored 152 on his debut.

Two years later, champion Grace took his cricket equipment to England 's first home defeat. Despite top-scoring he could not stop a loss that marked the "death" of English cricket and the birth of the Ashes. He was also the first English captain to surrender the urn when England lost in 1891/92.

Double centuries

Grace made over 200 runs on ten occasions, the most notable perhaps being in 1871, when he performed the feat twice, each time in benefit matches, and each time in the second innings, having been each time got out in the first over of the first innings. Against Middlesex, the cricketing champion carried his batting equipment for 221, and sat up the whole night in between beside the bed of a patient.

Remarkable batting

Grace evolved the modern principles of batting and achieved many notable performances on rough and unpredictable wickets such as are unknown to modern players. His height contributed towards his unique cricketing style, and it's reported that he often held his batting equipment inches above the ground because he was so tall. 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.

Obituary

An obituary that appeared following his death in 1915 read:

�Dr. William Gilbert Grace was by common consent the greatest and most attractive figure that ever appeared on the cricket field. In his all-round mastery of the game, in the length of years during which he stood far above all rivals, in the amazing sum total of his cricketing achievements, and by no means least of all in the popular interest he excited, no cricketer, living or dead, has ever approached him, and it is doubtful if any ever will.' Undoubtedly this champion cricketer was well-equipped for his legendary status.

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