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WG Grace - The Champion Cricketer
- Thread starter SJS
- Start date
SJS
Hall of Fame Member
Push to Leg
Here is another stroke which is WG's very own. Ranji did not believe in the leg glance or any other variation of it to divert the direction of the ball. He preferred to deal with the leg stump and outside attack with the straightest of straight bats.The statue at Lord's (above right) is from this one. Here is what Lord Harris writes about it.
Here is another stroke which is WG's very own. Ranji did not believe in the leg glance or any other variation of it to divert the direction of the ball. He preferred to deal with the leg stump and outside attack with the straightest of straight bats.The statue at Lord's (above right) is from this one. Here is what Lord Harris writes about it.
"Whereas WG could hit all round ... he introduced what was then a novel stroke, and one more more adaptable to the break-back bowling that he had as a rule to meet, then the leg break bowling which was common in Pilch's time, viz the push to leg with a straight bat off a straight ball and his mastery of the stroke was so great that he could place the ball clear of even two short legs. It was not that glide which Ranjitsinhji developed so successfully, or a hook, but a push and a perfectly orthodox stroke. In his prime he met the ball on the popping crease, neither the orthodox forward nor the backstroke; it was a stroke entirely unique in my opinion needing remarkable clearness of eye and accurate timing: it was easy enough to play when one's eye was in, but when at his best he commenced the inings with it.
He stood very close to the line from wicket to wicket and made great use of his legs in protecting his wicket, not by getting in front of the wicket and leaving the ball alone but bat and legs were so close together that it was difficult for the ball to get past"
He stood very close to the line from wicket to wicket and made great use of his legs in protecting his wicket, not by getting in front of the wicket and leaving the ball alone but bat and legs were so close together that it was difficult for the ball to get past"
Lord Harris : Memorial Biography of Dr WG Grace
SJS
Hall of Fame Member
Yes he did. It surprised me too when I first came across the photographs in Beldam's book
SJS
Hall of Fame Member
This is what Fry and Lord Harris have to say of Grace the bowler
WG Grace - The Bowler
In his prime the best change bowler in the world, and still very useful. His style is very different than any bowler from the younger school, as his action is distinctly round arm and he delivers the ball with his hand scarcely above shoulder high. His main characteristics are accuracy of length and peculiar flight. He bowls chiefly on the leg stump and makes a cult of getting the batsmen out l.b.w.
Delivering the ball with his arm at full length, about on a level with his shoulder, he is able, by turning his hand over at the moment of delivery, to put top spin on the ball, and to put drag spin on it by turning the hand the reverse way and cutting under the ball. Naturally the ball with the top spin comes quicker off the pitch than the other, and the difference in pace off the pitch from these two balls needs careful watching. WG's bowling looks a great deal simpler than it is. A spectator watching from the side of the ground can easily see the length of the ball, but the batsman is often deceived by the flight, for WG has the knack of slightly varying the elevation of the ball in the air in a way that makes it by no means easy for the batsman to judge its length.
His famous square leg trap is well known. He drops the ball just on the tempting spot so that the batsman can scarcely resist a hard hit; but the length of the ball is such that the square drive is almost sure to go up in the air and the rest depends upon the fielder.
Delivering the ball with his arm at full length, about on a level with his shoulder, he is able, by turning his hand over at the moment of delivery, to put top spin on the ball, and to put drag spin on it by turning the hand the reverse way and cutting under the ball. Naturally the ball with the top spin comes quicker off the pitch than the other, and the difference in pace off the pitch from these two balls needs careful watching. WG's bowling looks a great deal simpler than it is. A spectator watching from the side of the ground can easily see the length of the ball, but the batsman is often deceived by the flight, for WG has the knack of slightly varying the elevation of the ball in the air in a way that makes it by no means easy for the batsman to judge its length.
His famous square leg trap is well known. He drops the ball just on the tempting spot so that the batsman can scarcely resist a hard hit; but the length of the ball is such that the square drive is almost sure to go up in the air and the rest depends upon the fielder.
CB Fry - Great Bowlers and Fielders : Their Methods At A Glance
"He was originally a medium pace bowler without peculiarity, meeting occasionally with considerable success, but in the seventies he adopted the delivery, slow with a leg break, with which he was known for the rest of his career, and added to his otherwise extraordinary capacity as a cricketer. ... he made himself by ingenuity and assiduity, a successful bowler.
The chief feature of his bowling was the excellent length which he persistently maintained, for there was very little break on the ball, just enough bias to bring the ball across from the leg to the wicket; not infrequently he bowled for catches at long leg, and when his brother Fred was playing was often successful in trapping the unwary, for with a high flight and a dropping ball it is difficult to avoid skying a hit to leg.
The success of WG's bowling was largely due to his magnificent fielding to his own bowling. The moment he had delivered the ball, he took so much ground to his left as to be himself an extra mid-off and he never flunked a return however hard and low it came. Ie seen him make some extraordinary catches thus...he crossed over to the off so far and so quickly that he could not possibly see whether the ball would have hit the wicket but he generally felt justified in appealing....
He always had his mid on very straight behind him to make up for his (own) crossing to the off. He seemed quite impervious to fatigue, and after a long innings, would very gladly, if allowed to, bowl right through the opponents' innings. ... though not a brilliant he was a decidedly successful bowler and with a wind to help him, actually difficult. But of course he will go down to fame as the greatest batsman that ever played and not the greatest bowler..."
The chief feature of his bowling was the excellent length which he persistently maintained, for there was very little break on the ball, just enough bias to bring the ball across from the leg to the wicket; not infrequently he bowled for catches at long leg, and when his brother Fred was playing was often successful in trapping the unwary, for with a high flight and a dropping ball it is difficult to avoid skying a hit to leg.
The success of WG's bowling was largely due to his magnificent fielding to his own bowling. The moment he had delivered the ball, he took so much ground to his left as to be himself an extra mid-off and he never flunked a return however hard and low it came. Ie seen him make some extraordinary catches thus...he crossed over to the off so far and so quickly that he could not possibly see whether the ball would have hit the wicket but he generally felt justified in appealing....
He always had his mid on very straight behind him to make up for his (own) crossing to the off. He seemed quite impervious to fatigue, and after a long innings, would very gladly, if allowed to, bowl right through the opponents' innings. ... though not a brilliant he was a decidedly successful bowler and with a wind to help him, actually difficult. But of course he will go down to fame as the greatest batsman that ever played and not the greatest bowler..."
Lord Harris - The Memorial Biography of Dr WG Grace
For those who have the patience to read books in PDF format :
Memorial Biography :
Internet Archive: Details: The Memorial biography of Dr. W.G. Grace
Cricketing Reminiscences and Personal Recollections
Internet Archive: Details: "W.G.", cricketing reminiscences and personal recollections
Cricket :
Internet Archive: Details: Cricket
Memorial Biography :
Internet Archive: Details: The Memorial biography of Dr. W.G. Grace
Cricketing Reminiscences and Personal Recollections
Internet Archive: Details: "W.G.", cricketing reminiscences and personal recollections
Cricket :
Internet Archive: Details: Cricket
SJS
Hall of Fame Member
WG didn't always have a beard. I have a picture of him with his father, his uncle Pocock and all his brothers (plus some cousins I presume). Here it is.
WG is the youngster at the extreme left in the white cap with just the beginnings of a Reetinder Sodhi kind of small beard. His father is at the back in the top hat and uncle Pocock's picture tells us how much young Gilbert doted on his maternal uncle, he even loved the way Pocock carried his flowing beard ! The year is 1867 and WG was 19.
WG at 19
That, however, is not the oldest available picture of WG as a cricketer (assuming this is an assembly of cricketers above.
In 1863, WG played his first representative match against an All England side. Most books mention the 32 runs he scored for 22 of Bristol against the All England side in August 1863 but he played in an earlier game against them for 22 of Landsdown in May the same year and scored 0 and 0 in the two innings !
Here is WG in what the caption to the picture describes as "Stalwarts of the All England XI in 1863" though records show that WG played against and not for the All England side in both the games.
Again, WG is not the man with the beard but the rather good looking young man in the white cap standing next to him marked '12'
WG is the youngster at the extreme left in the white cap with just the beginnings of a Reetinder Sodhi kind of small beard. His father is at the back in the top hat and uncle Pocock's picture tells us how much young Gilbert doted on his maternal uncle, he even loved the way Pocock carried his flowing beard ! The year is 1867 and WG was 19.
WG at 19
That, however, is not the oldest available picture of WG as a cricketer (assuming this is an assembly of cricketers above.
In 1863, WG played his first representative match against an All England side. Most books mention the 32 runs he scored for 22 of Bristol against the All England side in August 1863 but he played in an earlier game against them for 22 of Landsdown in May the same year and scored 0 and 0 in the two innings !
Here is WG in what the caption to the picture describes as "Stalwarts of the All England XI in 1863" though records show that WG played against and not for the All England side in both the games.
Again, WG is not the man with the beard but the rather good looking young man in the white cap standing next to him marked '12'
SJS
Hall of Fame Member
Pelham Warner, England captain, manager, administrator played with WG in the latter's last decade in cricket. He writes of WG in various places in his many books and he is not over-the-top in his praise by any stretch of imagination. Of course he saw WG as an old man only.
Pelham Warner on WG Grace
Pelham Warner on WG Grace
1895 was the year when WG, then in his forty-eighth year, had such a marvellous season. He scored 1016 runs in the month of May, and in the whole season, 2346 with an average of 51.00. After the season of 1904 WG virtually retired from first class cricket and to the present generation, he is but a name. ......Apart from his batting and bowling he was a superb field in his youth, and, when I knew him, a dead sure catch at point with either of his huge hands.
It is, perhaps, open to question whether he was the greatest bat than Ranjitsinhji, Fry, Trumper or Hobbs, but he lasted longer than any other cricketer has ever done, and he will remain the Champion, the Leviathan of cricket. In his early days wickets were rougher than they are now, but he himself used to say that the Oval, Fenners, Brighton and Clifton were always perfect for run-getting. He was the very finest player of fast bowling and literally killed the fast bowlers of the late sixties and the seventies but he was never quite at home to slow bowling.
"WG" was perhaps not so good a captain as one would expect from so remarkable an exponent of the game, but it must be remembered that in his day, the strategy and tactics of captaincy were not so much studied as they are now. Cricket in a sense was a more formal game. The field was set with, lets say, everybody on the off side, excepting a mid-on and if a batsman pulled a ball round to the leg side it was looked upon as almost a vulgar stroke.
.... I do not infer that cricketers in those days when WG was playing did not pull or hook the ball, or take advantage of the openings on the field, but what I do suggest is that batting was, generally speaking, more stereotyped in character, and as a consequence, placing of the field was a more formal affair.
There was nothing that WG did not know about cricket, but one would, perhaps venture to assert that he (as captain) did not always maneuver the field in accordance with the special style of the batsmen. However that maybe, he inspired confidence in his team, and if something of a martinet, he had a heart of gold and a most kindly disposition.
So long as cricket is played, Grace's name will occupy the first place. He was the Champion. No one, before or since has been styled that, and it is doubtful whether anyone ever will be. . . .
On a fiery wicket there never has been anybody to compare with (Ranji), with the one exception of the Champion. . .
It is, perhaps, open to question whether he was the greatest bat than Ranjitsinhji, Fry, Trumper or Hobbs, but he lasted longer than any other cricketer has ever done, and he will remain the Champion, the Leviathan of cricket. In his early days wickets were rougher than they are now, but he himself used to say that the Oval, Fenners, Brighton and Clifton were always perfect for run-getting. He was the very finest player of fast bowling and literally killed the fast bowlers of the late sixties and the seventies but he was never quite at home to slow bowling.
"WG" was perhaps not so good a captain as one would expect from so remarkable an exponent of the game, but it must be remembered that in his day, the strategy and tactics of captaincy were not so much studied as they are now. Cricket in a sense was a more formal game. The field was set with, lets say, everybody on the off side, excepting a mid-on and if a batsman pulled a ball round to the leg side it was looked upon as almost a vulgar stroke.
.... I do not infer that cricketers in those days when WG was playing did not pull or hook the ball, or take advantage of the openings on the field, but what I do suggest is that batting was, generally speaking, more stereotyped in character, and as a consequence, placing of the field was a more formal affair.
There was nothing that WG did not know about cricket, but one would, perhaps venture to assert that he (as captain) did not always maneuver the field in accordance with the special style of the batsmen. However that maybe, he inspired confidence in his team, and if something of a martinet, he had a heart of gold and a most kindly disposition.
So long as cricket is played, Grace's name will occupy the first place. He was the Champion. No one, before or since has been styled that, and it is doubtful whether anyone ever will be. . . .
On a fiery wicket there never has been anybody to compare with (Ranji), with the one exception of the Champion. . .
Evermind
International Debutant
Reminds me of:Another picture of a "young WG" and at right "WG at forty" still not bulkier than some modern day Test stars.
So clearly all these big guy with big beard pictures we are used to seeing so often are of a WG in his late forties and fifties. Its just that there are so many of them around that the mental picture we have is of a guy who was, kind of, born fat with a yard long beard
SJS
Hall of Fame Member
Archie MacLaren was born a quarter of a century after WG so although he played under him and saw him bat, WG was in the winter of his career. So when MacLaren talks of WG, he reminds us that he saw the old man at an age when people are not expected to be playing at the top level. However, he leaves us in no doubt as to what he thought of WG the batsman. Its a very interesting profile of the Champuon in what MacLaren calls "the December of his cricketing life".
I ought to make it clear to my listeners that I was too young to ever have seen the Champion at the zenith of his career - in those years when one CAN only be at one's best - for he was distinctly an old man when I first played under him.
This, however, did not prevent him from being top scorer in one of the three Test matches in which I played under his captaincy, and again in the Gentlemen versus Players match at Lord's , on his fiftieth birthday and against the cream of English bowling, on a difficult wicket - a really wonderful performance.
We all know that as a batsman his methods were of the soundest: he had every stroke on the board at his command, while his concentration was most marked. An outstanding feature was the accuracy with which he placed the ball between the fields-men, particularly in the cutting strokes through the slips. One can truthfully say that on all wickets and against all types of bowling he remained supreme. I asked him once which bowler he liked the least of all. He paused for a moment, then rapped out, "Archie, I love 'em all".
People have asked if WG ever appeared to be nervous, and on my referring this question to him he replied: "Well, I always feel better after my luncheon'. Certainly his play never gave any indication that he was ever nervous. He demonstrated to all of us that wet wickets and hard wickets all came alike to him. . . .
I cant remember WG ever being hit by a ball, let alone hurt, and I might also add that he never missed a match through ill-health. . .
Whenever I am asked who was the best in any department of the game I start my reply with "always excepting WG. . ." A world famous international in his prime told me he doubted whether WG was quite the player he was made out to be. I replied, "Wait till you are fifty, when you won't look so pretty at the wicket, and then get top score in the biggest match of the year on a bowler's wicket".
We who never saw WG at his prime can only guess how great he must have been in his younger days. When he excelled in his old age for a cricketer was in his knowledge of the limitations imposed upon him only by increasing years. He never attempted to do with the bat what his age prohibited, but rightly waited for his now fewer opportunities for scoring in front of the wicket than to make them as he used to in his earlier days. He retained in a marvelous manner almost to the last those occasional taps through slips off the shorter pitched balls outside the off-stump, always most cleverly placed to beat the fieldsman; as well as dealing in the telling manner, which was probably one of the strongest features of his batting in his palmy days, with any ball on his legs.
In the December of his cricketing life, when he used to captain London county, it was not too easy to get as many of the counties to play against him as he wished, owing to their already well-filled programme. On one occasion, however, Lancashire, under my captaincy, came to the rescue gladly giving up their three days of holidays in the middle of the season to give him a game. So along came WG and his merry men, among them WL Murdoch. . . I have the most vivid recollection of the game.
The old man won the toss from me on a perfect wicket, and out stepped these two stalwarts to provide a bating treat, which at that period of their lives was beyond all expectations.
It was remarkable that that the effectiveness of their cutting allowed no weakening of the slip positions, thereby making their driving more telling when the bowler required that extra field on the off, who could not be spared. Here was a spectacle provided by two past masters of batting, whose repertoire of strokes was a little less than it had been in their hey-day.
I am sure no two cricketers ever enjoyed themselves more, or could have been more completely satisfied with their own exhibition of batting - ever to remain a delight to those who had the fortune to witness it.
This, however, did not prevent him from being top scorer in one of the three Test matches in which I played under his captaincy, and again in the Gentlemen versus Players match at Lord's , on his fiftieth birthday and against the cream of English bowling, on a difficult wicket - a really wonderful performance.
We all know that as a batsman his methods were of the soundest: he had every stroke on the board at his command, while his concentration was most marked. An outstanding feature was the accuracy with which he placed the ball between the fields-men, particularly in the cutting strokes through the slips. One can truthfully say that on all wickets and against all types of bowling he remained supreme. I asked him once which bowler he liked the least of all. He paused for a moment, then rapped out, "Archie, I love 'em all".
People have asked if WG ever appeared to be nervous, and on my referring this question to him he replied: "Well, I always feel better after my luncheon'. Certainly his play never gave any indication that he was ever nervous. He demonstrated to all of us that wet wickets and hard wickets all came alike to him. . . .
I cant remember WG ever being hit by a ball, let alone hurt, and I might also add that he never missed a match through ill-health. . .
Whenever I am asked who was the best in any department of the game I start my reply with "always excepting WG. . ." A world famous international in his prime told me he doubted whether WG was quite the player he was made out to be. I replied, "Wait till you are fifty, when you won't look so pretty at the wicket, and then get top score in the biggest match of the year on a bowler's wicket".
We who never saw WG at his prime can only guess how great he must have been in his younger days. When he excelled in his old age for a cricketer was in his knowledge of the limitations imposed upon him only by increasing years. He never attempted to do with the bat what his age prohibited, but rightly waited for his now fewer opportunities for scoring in front of the wicket than to make them as he used to in his earlier days. He retained in a marvelous manner almost to the last those occasional taps through slips off the shorter pitched balls outside the off-stump, always most cleverly placed to beat the fieldsman; as well as dealing in the telling manner, which was probably one of the strongest features of his batting in his palmy days, with any ball on his legs.
In the December of his cricketing life, when he used to captain London county, it was not too easy to get as many of the counties to play against him as he wished, owing to their already well-filled programme. On one occasion, however, Lancashire, under my captaincy, came to the rescue gladly giving up their three days of holidays in the middle of the season to give him a game. So along came WG and his merry men, among them WL Murdoch. . . I have the most vivid recollection of the game.
The old man won the toss from me on a perfect wicket, and out stepped these two stalwarts to provide a bating treat, which at that period of their lives was beyond all expectations.
It was remarkable that that the effectiveness of their cutting allowed no weakening of the slip positions, thereby making their driving more telling when the bowler required that extra field on the off, who could not be spared. Here was a spectacle provided by two past masters of batting, whose repertoire of strokes was a little less than it had been in their hey-day.
I am sure no two cricketers ever enjoyed themselves more, or could have been more completely satisfied with their own exhibition of batting - ever to remain a delight to those who had the fortune to witness it.
Archie MacLaren, The Listener, October 1935
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Richard
Cricket Web Staff Member
Indeed there isn't. However, whether he would or would not have dominated the game in the 1970s or 1990s really doesn't overtly matter. His greatness lies in what he did in his own day
These pictures (I presume they are once more from Great Batsmen - Their Methods At A Glance) are, as Akhil says, really rather exciting. It's a book I don't have and doubtless has countless treasures within.
SJS
Hall of Fame Member
Only the action pictures are from that book. The others are from some of my other books on WG.
Cricketana
Cricket Spectator
Hi, first post and very sorry to bump a pretty old thread.
I do not have Lubbock's book but here is a picture of young WG for you guys from my inventory to give you an idea of what CB Fry is talking of when he tells of "a slim and graceful young man". Unfortunately photgraphy was rare and frightfully expensive and mostly done in studios or by bringing heavy equipment outdoors. By the time proper photographs were taken more often and on the cricket field, WG had changed is size and shape and that is the image so indelibly etched on our minds and so inextricably linked to the legend of WG Grace
.... to be continued
Just thought this WG portrait as a 24 year old would complement those already posted.
Identified and dated (on back) as 1872... I guess from the same photoshoot as the first image by SJS.
Enjoy,
Jimmy Leiderman
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fredfertang
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Welcome to CW Jimmy - hope you stick around
Cricketana
Cricket Spectator
Thank you!
Probably not much to contribute other than posting boring 19th century cricket photographs....
Probably not much to contribute other than posting boring 19th century cricket photographs....
fredfertang
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Suits me mate - the floor is all yoursThank you!
Probably not much to contribute other than posting boring 19th century cricket photographs....
Furball
Evil Scotsman
If that's "all" you can contribute then you'll be a very welcome addition to the forums. Welcome!Thank you!
Probably not much to contribute other than posting boring 19th century cricket photographs....
Cricketana
Cricket Spectator
Thanks for the warm welcome guys...