Grace’s Day
Today, July 18th , is the anniversary of the birth of WG Grace, ‘The Great Cricketer’, and the original founder of London County.
His remarkable deeds with Gloucestershire, and England, plus the other teams he represented with distinction such as ‘The Gentlemen’ in the annual ‘Gentlemen versus Players’ fixture made him Cricket’s first icon. His quality and longevity ensured that his name has been synonomous with the game right up to the present day. The naming of ‘The Grace Gates’ at Lord’s, has meant that every young cricketer who enters ‘the Home of Cricket’ has the opportunity to develop a curiosity about his career and life, which made him one of the most famous people in history.
One hundred and six years ago, On 18th July 1904, WG Grace scored his 126th and final First-Class century when making 166 for London County v MCC on his 56th birthday.
Today, if he were alive, he would be 162 not out.
Grace was a pioneer Cricketer and his legacy is such that his records of achievement appear greater as each decade passes, and fewer players are able to contemplate his remarkable levels of performance, let alone surpass them.
He invented back foot play and had a big appetite for dominating play. He is renown for his number of ‘firsts’, including England’s first ever Test century (1880) and the first Test century on debut; the first two First-Class triple centuries; first to 1,000 runs in a season in May; first batsman ever to make 2,000 runs in a season; first to 100 First-Class centuries; and a truly great ‘all-rounder’ who regularly did ‘the double’ of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in a season.
He was ‘The Great Cricketer’.
