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TESTS THROUGH TIME

Full of Grace
Imagine a man with the prowess of Tiger Woods, multiply his hunger with that of Muttiah Muralidaran and Sachin Tendulkar's by a few times\, add the popularity of a 19th century David Beckham (minus the tattoos and the bling) and you can get some idea what WG Grace stood for at the end of the, 19th century.
J Yet, the man they called The Doctor (he was actu-\ ally one) was much more than just the thousands of first-class runs and wickets. A man of his stature, in more ways than one, can hardly be envisaged in the modern day but remains one of the most oft-j> mentioned characters in the game.
*' Born in Bristol at the start of the Victorian period, ft J WG's cricket skills were first discovered by his mother, Martha, before Alfred Pocock chiseled sophistication _ ,to his strokeplay. At the age of 14 came his first-ever * | century andhe never looked back.
“ His sporting feats were slowly gathering attention when four years later he struck 224 in a game and was excused from fielding so that he could win the 440-yard hurdles championship.
In 1871, he became the first batsman to cross the.1 2000-run mark in a season and it was his presence that pressed for a proper county competition^ (thoughitwasn'tproperlyorganiseduntil 1890). "
In the remaining decades of the 19th century, WG made runs, spun out batsmen and became the most g famous sporting figure in Britain. Classed as an ■ "amateur", he quickly grasped that his presence [■ would bring in the crowds and promptly began charging more than the professionals (or players) of | the time. He made more than £120,000 at the time . and whenever he turned up for a game, the threepence charge to the viewing public was doubled.
WG was also the original master of gamesmanship and tales of his blatant disregard of umpires is legendary.
The famous story ofWG not walking is well known but when Ernest Jones slipped one through his flowing beard, the Australian paceman quickly apologized: “Sorry Doctor, she slipped... ”
, Charles Kortright, the fastest bowler in those days, ft had WG plumb in front off his first ball in a game at , Leyton in 1896. Next ball, he nicked one to the.
. wicketkeeper but again the umpire didn't give hinf* out. The third ball had WG's middle and leg stump uprooted when Kortright chortled, “Surely you're not I going doctor, there's one stump still standing.”
For all his stories, WG was the first player to know' , how to play front and back and had a plan for every J bowler he faced and could set accurate fields foM • every batsman he fooled. His incredible appetite foB cricket also meant he kept playing for England eveiB after he was 50 years old.
In a career that spanned more than four decadesB WG made 54,211 runs (with 124 centuries) in 87® matches. He took 2,809 wickets with his wily IcgB breaks with a career-best 10for49. His22-matchTesM .Career that spawned two centuries and nine wickets ■ . is'but a drop in his ocean of cricketing achievements. .
On October 23, 1915, WG died of a heart attack arid the war was suspended for the day. , j
■ - Mohammad Isam ’