W.G. versus The Don

[neville cardus]

Did the rules state that you were allowed to call a player out of his crease and then run him out?

That was a grey area, but not one into which W.G.'s actions fell. The account you quote takes a few factual liberties.

I have my doubts, but then the batsman was a bit stupid for walking over to him I suppose.

Many said that at the time, but Jones, being the youngest (and hence probably most naive) man in that match, should be excused. Many youngsters fell foul of W.G.'s hoodwinkery. As the great man himself said of the incident, "I taught the lad something" -- and that was an opinion shared by many.

 

[neville cardus]

Currently a couple hundred pages into Rae's WG Grace so might be a bit biased here, but my God he was good. The most telling factor for me (where I'm up to in his career anyways age 25 or so) is that whenever he failed with the bat he almost certainly made up with it with stunning performances with the ball. Also his fitness was superb with no boundaries having to run everything (sometimes up to 7) is truly amazing. To paraphrase a good post from a while back, everything we have today including Bradman stands on his shoulders.

Were I not nursing so dire a hangover this morning, I'd offer you a lengthy appraisal of that very fine book and its subject, but, as it is, you'll have to settle for the warning that W.G. falls off significantly in the 1880s, when both age and professional commitments take their toll. He is still a very fine player, but only rarely the finest.

His numerous off-the-field misdemeanours also leave a sour taste which is often made to detract from his greatness, but to view him as a malign, nasty soul is to misunderstand him completely.