W. G. Grace with the English cricket team in Australia in 1873–74

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W. G. Grace

Seasons
1864 to 1870
1871
1872 to 1873
1873–74
1874 to 1875
1876 to 1877
1878
1879 to 1882
1883 to 1886
1887 to 1891
1891–92
1892 to 1894
1895
1896 to 1899
1900 to 1908

Career

First-class centuries
  Variations in statistics  

Family

E. M. Grace (brother)
Fred Grace (brother)
Charles Grace (son)
W. G. Grace, Jr. (son)

W. G. Grace visited Australia in 1873–74 as captain of "W.G. Grace's XI".[1] On the morning of the team's departure from Southampton, he responded to well-wishers by saying that his team "had a duty to perform to maintain the honour of English cricket, and to uphold the high character of English cricketers".[2] But both his and the team's performance fell well short of this goal. The tour was not a success and the only positive outcome was the fact of the tour having taken place, ten years after the previous one, as it "gave Australian cricket a much needed fillip".[3] Most of the problems lay with Grace himself and his "overbearing personality" which quickly exhausted all personal goodwill towards him.[4] There was also bad feeling within the team itself because Grace, who normally got on well with professional players, enforced the class divide throughout the tour.[5] In terms of results, the team fared reasonably well following a poor start in which they were beaten by both Victoria and New South Wales. They played 15 matches in all but none are recognised as first-class.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 "Tour itinerary". CricketArchive. Retrieved 27 November 2008.
  2. Rae, p.149.
  3. Rae, p.188.
  4. Rae, p.189.
  5. Rae, p.190.

External links

Bibliography

  • Altham, H.S. (1962). A History of Cricket, Volume 1 (to 1914). George Allen & Unwin. 
  • Birley, Derek (1999). A Social History of English Cricket. Aurum. ISBN 1-85410-941-3. 
  • Bowen, Rowland (1970). Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development. Eyre & Spottiswoode. 
  • Darwin, Bernard (1934). W. G. Grace (Great Lives Series). Duckworth. 
  • Grace, W.G. (1899). "W.G." – Cricketing Reminiscences and Personal Recollections. Hambledon Press. ISBN 0-9506882-0-7. 
  • Midwinter, Eric (1981). W.G. Grace: His Life and Times. George Allen and Unwin. ISBN 978-0-04-796054-3. 
  • Rae, Simon (1998). W.G. Grace: A Life. ISBN 978-0-571-17855-1. 
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