Cricket 1908

J u ly 23, 1908. CRICKET A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 291 C A T A L O G U E U PO N A P P L IC A T IO N . The cover of this ball is constructed upon an improved system which ensures increased durability. The materials and workmanship are of the highest class, and there can be no doubt whatever that the first grade is the mo«t desirable Match Ball that can be produced. C A T A L O G U E U PO N A P P L IC A T IO N . The construction of the Demon Drivers is fully described in The Evolution of a Cricket Bat , which may be obtained free upon applica­ tion to 6E0. 6. BUSSEY & Co., L td .. 36 & 38. Queen Victoria St., LONDON. Manufactory — • Timber Mills — PECKHAM , S.E. ELMSWELL, SUFFOLK. Agents all over the world. AT THE SIGN OF THE WICKET. B y F. S. A s iile y -C o o p e r . On Saturday last William Gilbert Grace celebrated his sixtieth birthday, an event which many hundred followers of the game recognised by forwarding messages of congratulation. The “ Old Man ” is be­ coming an old bird now from a cricket point of view, but he is still a very boy in spirits and enthusiasm. If there is any truth in the statement that a man is only as old as he feels, then is our Champion verily a young man still. It is fifty-one years since he played his first recorded match, for West Gloucestershire against Bedminster at Rodway Hill, when he scored three not out, and, although he is naturally not so agile now as in the days of his youth, he is still to be feared as an opponent in good-class club cricket. Quite recently he took seven wickets and scored h i not out in a London County match, and, judging from the form he then showed, he has many years of cricket still before him. “ W . G .” was fortunate in possessing in his father and mother two excellent judges and enthusiasts of cricket. He had, top, the excellent advantage of having elder brothers who, sound players themselves, took pains to assist him in the development of his play. From a care­ ful perusal of scores it is evident that “ W . G .” came to the front in 1864 sud­ denly and somewhat unexpectedly. In that year South Wales were touring in the south-eastern part of England, and, when they were choosing their team to play against the Gentlemen of Sussex on the old ground at Hove, Brighton, it was seriously suggested by the captain that the boy of fifteen should stand down in favour of one whom he thought a better player. But Henry Grace was firm, and insisted on the youngster playing. Result— “ W . G. ” scored 170 in his first innings and 56 not out in his second. A week later he made his first appearance at Lord’s, and marked that important event in his career by playing a sound innings of 50. In the following year he was chosen, chiefly on account of his bowling, for ihe Gentlemen v. Players match, both at L ord’s and the Oval. He was then only sixteen years old, but over six feet in height, and was already possessed of very flourishing whiskers. Reference to the scores shows that he took seven wickets and made 72 runs in three com ­ pleted innings. In 1866 he came right to the front, and, by scoring 224 not out for •'.Poland v. Surrey at the Oval and 173 not out for Gentlemen of South v. Players of South on the same ground, earned the tide of Champion. Until then “ E. M .” had been the star of the family, but “ W . G .’s ” two magnificent innings proved sufficient to place him on a pedestal by himself. From that date his pre-eminence was never questioned : he was in a class apart— everywhere acknowledged as the greatest all-round cricketer the world had ever seen. “ E. M .’s ” greatness was, of course, still recognised, as it could not fail to be, but he had been surpassed by his younger brother, and one may rest assured lhat no one took greater pride in the doings of the young champion than Edward Mills Grace himself. It was about this period that a schoolboy w rote:— “ Mr. W . G. Grace is the father of Cricket and the brother of Dr. E. M. G race.” Even to outline the wonderful career of “ W . G .” would much exceed the space at command, and therefore only a few re­ marks concerning its most outstanding features can be made. Even those who witnessed the triumphs of the “ Old Man ” in 1895, his year of rejuvenesence, when he completed his thousand runs for the season by the end of May, can have little idea of the extent to which he stood out above iall contemporaries whilst in his prime, two decades earlier. Then he was so dreaded by the bowlers that sympathy was always on the side of the Players in their matches with the Gentlemen. Morley, the Shaws, Emmett, Southerton, and others could seldom conceal their de­ light when they obtained the great man’s wicket, and sometimes the successful bowler would throw his hat high in the air in order to demonstrate his joy. In consecutive innings, from 1871 to 1873, “ W . G .” scored 217, 77 and 112, 117, 163, 158, and 70 for the Gentlemen on wickets which were not billiard-tables, against the best bowling of the time, and on grounds where the great majority of the hits were still run out. And here one might mention that his splendid physique has been almost as wonderful as his cricketical skill. No man could have played first-class cricket for so many seasons as “ W .G .” has done if he had not possessed an extraordinarily good constitution. When he was at his zenith the facilities of travelling were not nearly so great as they are now, and more than once has the Doctor, after a long day in the field, sat up at a patient’s bed­ side through the night, and been called upon to face the best bowlers in England on the following day. It is considered a great thing, and rightly so, for a man to play in the chief matches for twenty sea­ sons, but “ W . G. ” was chosen for Gentle­ men v. Players matches from 1865 until 1906, and played a fine innings of 74 on his last appearance. He would in all likelihood have been selected even later had he not expressed his intention of not turn­ ing out in such a match again. I happened to be present in the dressing- room when the Champion came in after making the score of 74 referred to. The Old Man, looking as brown as a berry, was greeted with a unanimous chorus of congratulations which must have sounded as music to his ear, though it was far from being so in reality. Looking as delighted as a school-boy, he lumbered across the room to a chair and, throwing his bat on a table, remarked, “ There, I shan’t play any m o re !” O f course, he meant against the Players, for on the very next day he was cutting and driving the ball in all directions at the Crystal Palace. Bob Thoms used to say that if “ W . G .” had not been the greatest batsman in the world he would have been the best slow bowler, and doubtless he was right. Even when the best professionals had been bowling without much success “ W . G .” would generally get wdckets almost as soon as he went on. He was always very quick to see a batsman’s weak points, and therein, to a great extent, lay the secret of his success. Southerton once said, rather mournfully— “ It was in the match between North and South (1870), and after Willsher, Silcock, and I had in vain tried to secure a separation of the batsmen, Mr. W . G. Grace took the ball, and got three wickets in six balls, not one of which was within a foot of being straight.” Against men whom he met for the first time he was almost invariably successful. Mr. A. G. Steel evidently divined the reason for this, for, writing in the “ Cricket ”