assalamolaikum 
mirpuri aka dream here
The "Doctor" or the "Champion" or most commonly just "WG" was without doubt the greatest batsman in England for 20 or so years, during which time he was worth a place in any side in the world as a bowler. He bowled slow-medium, near round-arm, and relied on flight and deception to take his wickets. He was also a brilliant fielder (capable of throwing well over 100 yards), a top class athlete, and a great racquets and tennis player. He was if not actually the inventor of modern batting (play straight, foot to the pitch bat close to the pads, balance between back-foot and front foot play) certainly its greatest early exponent and the example by which the rest of the world learned how to play.
He scored the first two triple centuries in first class cricket and made his last first-class century almost 40 years after his first (a double century). His was the first century in tests for England. He carried his bat 17 times. He scored 3 hundreds in a row 5 times. As a bowler he took 8 or more in an innings 16 times including a ten for, and a 9 and an 8 in the same game and 14 times he scored a century in a game in which he took ten or more wickets.
The real merit of his play though was the difference between his scoring and his fellows. As a very young man he scored 134* while the rest of his team made 57 out of an all out 201. At 20 he became the first player in "modern" cricket to score 2 hundreds in a game. He was the first player to score 2000 in a season, he made 2739. He once made over 800 runs in 10 days for twice out (2 300s). He was (and maybe still is I haven't checked) for many years the only player to have scored more than 200 of his sides first 300 runs.
Grace played his first first-class match in 1865 at the age of 17 and his last 43 years later in 1908 when aged almost 60. In between he scored 54,896 runs, still 5th on the all-time list, at 39.55, including 125 centuries. That average may not look much nowadays, but for most of his career the pitches were atrocious by modern standards; also he played on at an age when his eyesight and reflexes must inevitably have deteriorated. He also found time to take 2876 wickets, 6th on the all- time list, at 17.92. He took 887 catches, second on the list for a nonkeeper.
His best years were in the 1870s. Unfortunately, by the time he made his Test debut, in 1880, he was already past his best, so his record is comparatively modest. His greatest year was probably 1871: 2739 runs at 78.25. The next best aggregate that year was 1068, the next best average 37.66. In 1873 he averaged 72.20 for 1805 runs, next best average 41.60, next best aggregate 1052. In 1876 he scored 2622 at 62.42, compared to 1261 and 42.00 by the runners up. In his dotage, in 1895 at the age of 47 he made 1000 runs in May and finished with the highest aggregate of 2346 at an average of 51.00 (3rd best).
The combination of his enormous popularity (probably the best known public figure in England apart from Queen Victoria), coinciding with the railways making travel possible for the masses, turned cricket into the first modern spectator sport.
in my view w g grace was a true test legend
mirpuri aka dream here
The "Doctor" or the "Champion" or most commonly just "WG" was without doubt the greatest batsman in England for 20 or so years, during which time he was worth a place in any side in the world as a bowler. He bowled slow-medium, near round-arm, and relied on flight and deception to take his wickets. He was also a brilliant fielder (capable of throwing well over 100 yards), a top class athlete, and a great racquets and tennis player. He was if not actually the inventor of modern batting (play straight, foot to the pitch bat close to the pads, balance between back-foot and front foot play) certainly its greatest early exponent and the example by which the rest of the world learned how to play.
He scored the first two triple centuries in first class cricket and made his last first-class century almost 40 years after his first (a double century). His was the first century in tests for England. He carried his bat 17 times. He scored 3 hundreds in a row 5 times. As a bowler he took 8 or more in an innings 16 times including a ten for, and a 9 and an 8 in the same game and 14 times he scored a century in a game in which he took ten or more wickets.
The real merit of his play though was the difference between his scoring and his fellows. As a very young man he scored 134* while the rest of his team made 57 out of an all out 201. At 20 he became the first player in "modern" cricket to score 2 hundreds in a game. He was the first player to score 2000 in a season, he made 2739. He once made over 800 runs in 10 days for twice out (2 300s). He was (and maybe still is I haven't checked) for many years the only player to have scored more than 200 of his sides first 300 runs.
Grace played his first first-class match in 1865 at the age of 17 and his last 43 years later in 1908 when aged almost 60. In between he scored 54,896 runs, still 5th on the all-time list, at 39.55, including 125 centuries. That average may not look much nowadays, but for most of his career the pitches were atrocious by modern standards; also he played on at an age when his eyesight and reflexes must inevitably have deteriorated. He also found time to take 2876 wickets, 6th on the all- time list, at 17.92. He took 887 catches, second on the list for a nonkeeper.
His best years were in the 1870s. Unfortunately, by the time he made his Test debut, in 1880, he was already past his best, so his record is comparatively modest. His greatest year was probably 1871: 2739 runs at 78.25. The next best aggregate that year was 1068, the next best average 37.66. In 1873 he averaged 72.20 for 1805 runs, next best average 41.60, next best aggregate 1052. In 1876 he scored 2622 at 62.42, compared to 1261 and 42.00 by the runners up. In his dotage, in 1895 at the age of 47 he made 1000 runs in May and finished with the highest aggregate of 2346 at an average of 51.00 (3rd best).
The combination of his enormous popularity (probably the best known public figure in England apart from Queen Victoria), coinciding with the railways making travel possible for the masses, turned cricket into the first modern spectator sport.
in my view w g grace was a true test legend
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