W. G. Grace

W. G. Grace

Grace photographed by George Beldam, c. 1902
Personal information
Full name	William Gilbert Grace
Born	(1848-07-18)18 July 1848 Downend, near Bristol, England
Died	23 October 1915(1915-10-23) (aged 67) Mottingham, Kent, England
Nickname	W. G., The Doctor, The Champion, The Big 'Un, The Old Man
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm medium
Role	All-rounder
Relations	George Pocock (grandfather) E. M. Grace (brother) Fred Grace (brother) George Gilbert (cousin) Walter Gilbert (cousin) William Gilbert Rees (cousin) William Lee Rees (cousin)
International information
National side	England
Test debut (cap 24)	6 September 1880 v Australia
Last Test	1 June 1899 v Australia
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1869–1904	MCC
1870–1899	Gloucestershire
1900–1904	London County
Career statistics
Competition Test First-class[a] Matches 22 870 Runs scored 1,098 54,211 Batting average 32.29 39.45 100s/50s 2/5 124/251 Top score 170 344 Balls bowled 666 124,833 Wickets 9 2,809 Bowling average 26.22 18.14 5 wickets in innings 0 240 10 wickets in match 0 64 Best bowling 2/12 10/49 Catches/stumpings 39/– 876/5
Source: CricInfo, 28 May 2022[a]

Part of a series of articles on
W. G. Grace
Career
First-class centuries Variations in statistics
Family
E. M. Grace (brother) Fred Grace (brother) Henry Grace (brother) Charles Grace (son) Henry Grace (son) W. G. Grace Jr (son)
v t e

William Gilbert Grace MRCS LRCP (18 July 1848 – 23 October 1915) was an English amateur cricketer who was important in the development of the sport and is widely considered one of its greatest players. He was nominally amateur as a cricketer, but he is said to have made more money from his cricketing activities than any professional cricketer. He was an extremely competitive player and, although he was one of the most famous men in England, he was also one of the most controversial on account of his gamesmanship and moneymaking.

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.

Right-handed as both batsman and bowler, Grace dominated the sport during his career. His technical innovations and enormous influence left a lasting legacy. An outstanding all-rounder, he excelled at all the essential skills of batting, bowling and fielding, but it is for his batting that he is most renowned. He is held to have invented modern batsmanship. Usually opening the innings, he was particularly admired for his mastery of all strokes, and his level of expertise was said by contemporary reviewers to be unique. He generally captained the teams he played for at all levels because of his skill and tactical acumen.

Grace came from a cricketing family: E. M. Grace was one of his elder brothers and Fred Grace his younger brother. In 1880, they were members of the same England team, the first time three brothers played together in Test cricket. Grace took part in other sports also: he was a champion 440-yard hurdler as a young man and played football for the Wanderers. In later life, he developed enthusiasm for golf, lawn bowls, and curling. He qualified as a medical practitioner in 1879.

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