W G Grace story can someone confirm
dechucka
Oval so that the spectators could have a game to watch I remembered a story
about WG Grace. Supposedly playing a game he was bowled very early on in his
innings he turned around put the bails back on and said something along the
lines of " the people paid to come and watch me bat not to see you take my
wicket" and continued batting.
I'm sure I read this somewhere years ago but can't find a reference to it.
Is it true?, is it a myth? or is there no basis to the story and I am going
slowly mad.
OK we all agree on option c.
Gilly's Danda
dechucka wrote:
> In light of some people saying that a compromise should of been reach at the
> Oval so that the spectators could have a game to watch I remembered a story
> about WG Grace. Supposedly playing a game he was bowled very early on in his
> innings he turned around put the bails back on and said something along the
> lines of " the people paid to come and watch me bat not to see you take my
> wicket" and continued batting.
One of many apocryphal stories. Though I've had Rae's biography on my
shelves since 2003, I still haven't read it. It's not the first time
I'm hearing this story about Grace, though. Have a flick through
http://www.google.co.nz/search?hl=en&q=grace+%2B+%22come+to+watch+me+bat%22&btnG=Google+Search&meta=
for more.
>
> I'm sure I read this somewhere years ago but can't find a reference to it.
> Is it true?, is it a myth? or is there no basis to the story and I am going
> slowly mad.
Slowly?
A
dechucka
"Gilly's Danda" <finally...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1156292017.8...@i3g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
>
> dechucka wrote:
>> In light of some people saying that a compromise should of been reach at
>> the
>> Oval so that the spectators could have a game to watch I remembered a
>> story
>> about WG Grace. Supposedly playing a game he was bowled very early on in
>> his
>> innings he turned around put the bails back on and said something along
>> the
>> lines of " the people paid to come and watch me bat not to see you take
>> my
>> wicket" and continued batting.
>
> One of many apocryphal stories. Though I've had Rae's biography on my
> shelves since 2003, I still haven't read it. It's not the first time
> I'm hearing this story about Grace, though. Have a flick through
> http://www.google.co.nz/search?hl=en&q=grace+%2B+%22come+to+watch+me+bat%22&btnG=Google+Search&meta=
> for more.
Thanks very much for that, your a better man on google than me ( been
trying on and off for 1/2 an hour to find a reference
>
>>
>> I'm sure I read this somewhere years ago but can't find a reference to
>> it.
>> Is it true?, is it a myth? or is there no basis to the story and I am
>> going
>> slowly mad.
>
> Slowly?
well I went outside to speak to the trees but they didn't speak back to me
tra la they didn't speak back to me tra la so that why they put me away away
etc
Uday Rajan
> In light of some people saying that a compromise should of been reach at the
> Oval so that the spectators could have a game to watch I remembered a story
> about WG Grace. Supposedly playing a game he was bowled very early on in his
> innings he turned around put the bails back on and said something along the
> lines of " the people paid to come and watch me bat not to see you take my
> wicket" and continued batting.
It's certainly a story, but I don't know if it's true. But while we're
on stories...
One of my favourite Grace stories involves Charles Kortright, an Essex
fast bowler. Kortright comes up to bowl, WG gets hit on the back pad,
plumb in front, and everyone appeals. "Not out" says the umpire. After
all, this is WG, people have paid money to come see him play. Kortright
is steamed. He charges in again; WG gets a thick outside edge that goes
straight into the keeper's hands. They're sure they've got him now, and
everyone appeals. "Not out" says the umpire. By now smoke is coming out
of Kortright's ears as he walks back to his mark. He runs in and lets
loose another thunderbolt, that knocks the off and middle stumps out of
the ground. WG waits for a couple of seconds hoping to get a "No-ball"
call, realizes it's not coming, and turns to go back to the pavilion.
Kortright shouts after him "Leaving already, Doctor? There's still one
stump standing."
sdavmor
> dechucka wrote:
>> In light of some people saying that a compromise should of been reach at the
>> Oval so that the spectators could have a game to watch I remembered a story
>> about WG Grace. Supposedly playing a game he was bowled very early on in his
>> innings he turned around put the bails back on and said something along the
>> lines of " the people paid to come and watch me bat not to see you take my
>> wicket" and continued batting.
I've heard that one before. Always wondered if it was true.
> It's certainly a story, but I don't know if it's true. But while we're
> on stories...
>
> One of my favourite Grace stories involves Charles Kortright, an Essex
> fast bowler. Kortright comes up to bowl, WG gets hit on the back pad,
> plumb in front, and everyone appeals. "Not out" says the umpire. After
> all, this is WG, people have paid money to come see him play. Kortright
> is steamed. He charges in again; WG gets a thick outside edge that goes
> straight into the keeper's hands. They're sure they've got him now, and
> everyone appeals. "Not out" says the umpire. By now smoke is coming out
> of Kortright's ears as he walks back to his mark. He runs in and lets
> loose another thunderbolt, that knocks the off and middle stumps out of
> the ground. WG waits for a couple of seconds hoping to get a "No-ball"
> call, realizes it's not coming, and turns to go back to the pavilion.
> Kortright shouts after him "Leaving already, Doctor? There's still one
> stump standing."
True or not, that's a great cricket story. One to remember.
--
Cheers,
SDM -- a 21st century schizoid man
Systems Theory internet music project links:
soundclick <www.soundclick.com/systemstheory>
garageband <http://www.garageband.com/artist/systemstheory>
"Soundtracks For Imaginary Movies" CD released Dec 2004
"Codetalkers" CD coming very soon in 2006
NP: nothing
Bob Dubery
I wouldn't put it past Grace, though I doubt he'd have got up to
anything like that in a serious match.
Benefit matches were another matter. Grace had an appreciation of the
worth of the professional (after all, he was effectively a professional
himself) and for their lot and often agreed to play in benefit matches.
There are records of that time of matches being advertised with the
qualifier "entrance 3d. 6d if Dr Grace is batting." Grace knew the
difference that his presence could make to the takings at a benefit
match, or that his early departure from proceedings could make, and
might well have batted on in such a fixture.
Bob Dubery
Uday Rajan wrote:
> One of my favourite Grace stories involves Charles Kortright, an Essex
> fast bowler. Kortright comes up to bowl, WG gets hit on the back pad,
> plumb in front, and everyone appeals. "Not out" says the umpire. After
> all, this is WG, people have paid money to come see him play. Kortright
> is steamed. He charges in again; WG gets a thick outside edge that goes
> straight into the keeper's hands. They're sure they've got him now, and
> everyone appeals. "Not out" says the umpire. By now smoke is coming out
> of Kortright's ears as he walks back to his mark. He runs in and lets
> loose another thunderbolt, that knocks the off and middle stumps out of
> the ground. WG waits for a couple of seconds hoping to get a "No-ball"
> call, realizes it's not coming, and turns to go back to the pavilion.
> Kortright shouts after him "Leaving already, Doctor? There's still one
> stump standing."
There's a bit more to it than that, though Kortright certainly got in
one of cricket's greatest lines.
Earlier on in the match Grace had, in the opinion of the Essex team and
the Essex crowd, claimed a catch that he wasn't entitled to. He had
taken the catch low down (TOO low down for some) with his back to the
umpire then flung it up in the air shouting "not bad for an old 'un".
The ploy worked and the batsman was given out. Grace continued to rile
Essex by pinning up a copy of a telegram which he'd sent home and which
detailed his bowling performance (he was a very concientious recorder
of his own statistics). A reference was made to "rabbits".
Kortright was Essex's champion. Reputed to be the fastest bowler in the
land and famous for injuring batsmen who he thought were trying to take
too many liberties. He had said that WG was the only batsman he would
allow to "cock a toe" at him. Anybody else forgetting their place in
the pecking order could expect to have a fast yorker coming down upon
the offending pedal extremity. In the first innings Kortright had quite
a large degree of difficulty dismissing Grace who repeatedly stood his
ground.
Early in the 2nd knock Kortright thought he'd had Grace plumb. Grace
stood, the umpires didn't dare give the old man out, and when Kortright
showed his indignation Grace rubbed salt into the wounds by observing
that "cheats never prosper". This was the last straw, and Kortright
proceeded to bowl with great pace and aggression. Reports were that he
hit Grace several times. Grace didn't wilt in the face of the onslaught
- he was a very good and very brave player of fast bowling. Eventually
Kortright girded himself for one last onslaught, and this culminated
with the three deliveries that you describe and Kortright's famous
words.
sdavmor
That really is a marvelous piece of cricketing lore!
John Hall
<44eb9aae$0$4162$5a62...@per-qv1-newsreader-01.iinet.net.au>,
dechucka <dech...@vomithotmail.com.au> writes:
>In light of some people saying that a compromise should of been reach at the
>Oval so that the spectators could have a game to watch I remembered a story
>about WG Grace. Supposedly playing a game he was bowled very early on in his
>innings he turned around put the bails back on and said something along the
>lines of " the people paid to come and watch me bat not to see you take my
>wicket" and continued batting.
The version I've heard is that he spoke to the umpire, saying: "The
people paid to come and watch me bat, not to see you umpire."
>
>I'm sure I read this somewhere years ago but can't find a reference to it.
>Is it true?, is it a myth? or is there no basis to the story and I am going
>slowly mad.
>
>OK we all agree on option c.
>
>
I think that it's probably (b). Characters like Grace tended to attract
a lot of such stories. It's just possible that it did happen in a minor
match, where Grace's appearance was the real reason for the fixture.
There's a story of a poster advertising such a match reading:
"Admission: 3d. If WG Grace plays: 6d."
--
John Hall
"The beatings will continue until morale improves."
Attributed to the Commander of Japan's Submarine Forces in WW2
Ærchie
any sense had already left town. Yet Gilly's Danda was standin' in the
doorway saying:
Ahhh yes! I remember it well. It is all true. It was a quiet Saturday
afternoon in Kent and the sky was an unseasonable blue. The crowd was
hushed as the Umpire called "Play". The bowler came in to deliver the first
ball of the match. The revered Dr Grace prepared to receive the ball and
played forward.
The delivery was an unexpectedly perfect yorker and passed the toe of the
bat, flicking the off stump on its way though to the Wicket-Keeper.
The crowd fell into a stunned quietitude.
The Doctor looked at the bowler and scowled. Bending down, he picked up the
dislodged bail and replaced it. He gestured to the assembled multitudes and
his voice carried into the silence as he addressed the impudent bowler.
"They have come to see me bat, not to see you bowl."
The attending scribes began scribbling, as is their wont and the game
continued. The headlines for the following week were of the aforesaid
incident. The Gloucestershire broadsheets considered the event to be of no
importance whilst the Kentish tabloids were calling for the great cricketer
to be banned from the game and stating that it would be the last time Kent
ever played against Gloucestershire. Gladstone himself backed the actions
of the great Cricketer. Many suggested that Kent should have forfeited the
game because of the actions of the Gloucestershire team and of the Umpire
who has never been known for his sympathy for the Kentishmen
Some years later, I read an article penned by a pretentious scribe named
Geoffrey Moorhouse in which he wrote of the Great man, "He has never been a
hero of mine, not since the day in adolescence when I discovered that he
was sometimes a shameless cheat in a game that, I was being asked to
believe, was wholly honourable."
How was it he came to this conclusion when it was WG Grace himself who said
"I fear for the future of cricket if it became wholly professional Betting
and all kindred evils will follow in its wake, and instead of the game
being followed up for love, it will simply be a matter of £ s d."?
How prophetic.
The Æncient Ærchie
Ærchie
--
Don't visit my blog, it is private property!
http://archiearchive.wordpress.com/
Aslam Siddiqui
Another one goes that WG Grace once declared an innings closed with
his score on 93, so that he could complete a full set of scores between
0 and 100.
Actually it's a true story. His score of 93* came in the match for
Gloucestershire against Sussex at Bristol in 1898, when (batting at
number 6) he made sure that his side would not be beaten before
declaring in the second innings. He had been waiting six years for this
one remaining score, having completed the set of all other scores under
100 when he was dismissed for 99, also against Sussex, at Gloucester in
1892. He later made a dismissed score of 93 (for London County v
Cambridge University at Crystal Palace in 1900), thus completing a full
set of all dismissed scores from 0 to 100. In all first-class cricket,
his lowest unrecorded scores were 105, 108, 115 & 120.
aslam
GO CUBS!!!
Tintin
<snip>
> Early in the 2nd knock Kortright thought he'd had Grace plumb. Grace
> stood, the umpires didn't dare give the old man out, and when Kortright
> showed his indignation Grace rubbed salt into the wounds by observing
> that "cheats never prosper". This was the last straw, and Kortright
> proceeded to bowl with great pace and aggression. Reports were that he
> hit Grace several times. Grace didn't wilt in the face of the onslaught
> - he was a very good and very brave player of fast bowling. Eventually
> Kortright girded himself for one last onslaught, and this culminated
> with the three deliveries that you describe and Kortright's famous
> words.
Apparently Grace later said that he had never been so insulted in his
life.
Tinnin'
========
Uday Rajan
> There's a bit more to it than that, though Kortright certainly got in
> one of cricket's greatest lines.
Thanks for all the background information. I'd just assumed this was an
apocryphal story, but apparently something close to it may have
actually happened!
Bob Dubery
the bank.
Seek out a copy of Simon Rae's excellent WG biography ("W.G. Grace"
Faber and Faber 0-571-19573-3) for a pretty good and well researched
history of this great cricketer.
Andy Guthrie
> One of my favourite Grace stories involves Charles Kortright, an Essex
> fast bowler. Kortright comes up to bowl, WG gets hit on the back pad,
> plumb in front, and everyone appeals. "Not out" says the umpire. After
> all, this is WG, people have paid money to come see him play. Kortright
> is steamed. He charges in again; WG gets a thick outside edge that goes
> straight into the keeper's hands. They're sure they've got him now, and
> everyone appeals. "Not out" says the umpire. By now smoke is coming out
> of Kortright's ears as he walks back to his mark. He runs in and lets
> loose another thunderbolt, that knocks the off and middle stumps out of
> the ground. WG waits for a couple of seconds hoping to get a "No-ball"
> call, realizes it's not coming, and turns to go back to the pavilion.
> Kortright shouts after him "Leaving already, Doctor? There's still one
> stump standing."
>
Ha ha, I thought this was going to be the Freddie Trueman story. After
his third ball, with shattered stumps and bails everywhere, he turns to
the umpire and says "I damn nearly got him that time".