William Gilbert Grace is regarded as the Father of Cricket and was one of the most iconic cricketers of all time. His awesome persona, monstrous personality, and trademark beard alongside remarkable abilities made him one of the most endearing public figures of the 19th and early 20th century. If there existed any social media back then he probably would have got past David Beckham in fan-following. He was an English cricketer who was important in the development of the sport and is widely considered one of its greatest players.
1. A pioneer: It is underestimated that a batsman would have the option to play by and large around the recreation area to both short-pitched and full bowling. Nonetheless, that was not the situation during the 1800s and 1900s. It might be strange to imagine, but WG is considered to be the only batsman who can at any given point play both on the front foot and the back foot, and on both the off and leg sides. It was a little miracle that he came to be known as the Father of Cricket.
2. Family of cricketers: In addition to three Test cricketers, five more First-Class cricketers were produced by the Grace family. There were three Test cricketers in the next generation: William, Edward, and Fred; they were the first three brothers to play Test cricket; the next generation produced WG Jr, Charles, Henry, Alfred, and Norman, all of whom played First-Class cricket. In addition, there were uncles and cousins: William Pocock, William Lee Rees, George Gilbert, and Walter Gilbert.
3. The Doctor: William's father and brother were both medical practitioners as well. So. William was also known as The Doctor and often applied his skills on the cricket field. The jagged edges of a railing cut the throat of a former Gloucestershire cricketer, but William saved his life. William held the split throat together for almost half an hour to cease the bleeding after he had spent most of the afternoon bowling.
4. A true all-rounder: There are few cricketers who can match the sheer numbers of Grace, who played only 22 Tests and 870 First-Class matches. Despite any minor discrepancies, Grace scored over 54,000 runs, took over 2,800 wickets, and took over 870 catches in First-Class cricket. Only a handful of all-rounders in history can compare to him.
5. Insatiable with the bat: The legendary Grace played for 43 seasons for MCC and Gloucestershire, scoring 839 runs in one wonderful week (August 11-18, 1866) with three consecutive innings of 344 runs for MCC, 177 for Gloucestershire, and 318 not out also for Gloucestershire.The first two triple centuries in First-Class cricket were scored by him.
Although his average in First-Class cricket might not appear impressive, remember that he plied his trade during a time when batting was a nightmare. It was five times that he scored more than 2,000 runs in a season and 28 times that he scored more than 1,000 runs in a season. He was often leagues ahead of his closest competitor, and on many occasions almost twice as much as his closest competitor. His First-Class career also included 124 centuries and 251 fifties, including 152 on his Test debut, the first ever Test on English soil.
6. Crafty with the ball: With 2,809 First-Class wickets at an average of 18.14, 240 5 4-fers, and 64 ten-wicket hauls, WG could have played as a pure bowler. Although he bowled medium-pace round-arm, he began using subtle variations of pace rather than cut or seam during his career. It was common for him to lob the ball into the air only to fool the batsman into playing it in the air to the shrewdly placed fielder. Despite rarely being unplayable, lesser or inexperienced batsmen often fell victim to his crafty deliveries and canny field placements.
7. Forever athletic: It was difficult to find a cricketer of Grace's stature who was either as agile or skilled as the fielder Grace was. An outstanding outfielder in his youth, Grace never let his growing belly come in the way of his reflexes. A master point fielder, William was also a stunning catcher off his own bowling.As a result of his ability to predict how and where a batsman would strike a delivery, he was able to run into position to catch the ball on his follow-through. His ability to catch so many balls behind Frank Woolley is ample evidence for his skill.
8. The professional amateur: Although WG played exclusively as an amateur, he usually made more money than many professionals combined, even though he played exclusively as an amateur. WG was more than capable of manipulating circumstances to his benefit, which often led to some misgivings on the part of professionals.
9. The folklore: One story says that Grace picks up the bails after being bowled and just places them back on the stumps and resumes his innings. WG is perhaps the most mythologized cricketer of all. No one dared argue with him. Another myth is that he once told an umpire who had adjudged him out LBW, “They came to see me bat, not you umpire.”
Once it so happened that Grace once intimidated the umpire into turning down appeals for LBW against him, pace bowler Charles Kortright knocked down two of Grace’s stumps. As he was leaving, Kortright told him, “Surely you are not going, Doctor; there is one stump still standing.”
10. Monty Python’s God: As if he needed more immortalizing, the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail shows God talking to the protagonists and sending them on the quest for the eponymous grail. The God shown is an animated image of Grace, billowing beard and all.
11. Outlasting his sons: Grace played First-Class cricket from 1865 to 1908. His elder brother EM played from 1862 to 1896 an impressive span, but far less than that of WG himself while his younger brother Fred sadly passed away just 14 years into his career.
WG's performance is even more commendable since he played until 1906 after both his sons WG Jr and Charles (both of whom played their last First-Class match that year) appeared in their final First-Class match. Aside from his brothers, WG's career outlasted his sons as well!
12. A heart to match his measure: Grace was quick to seize the opportunity to earn as much as possible while posing as an amateur. However, William was known for being extremely generous as well. In addition to providing coal and soup to those in need, he almost never charged those who could not pay him anything. As a physician, he almost never charged patients who could not afford to pay him. As part of his medical etiquette, he refused to turn him over to the police, preferring instead to kick him out the door. He once treated a would-be burglar who injured his hands while trying to break into WG's house.