W.G. Grace Cricket’s first greatest of all time

W.G. Grace remains immortalised in cricketing folklore.

The Englishman had an enormous presence (and beard), a revolutionary attacking style of play and amassed a pile of runs and wickets spanning 44 seasons. 

WG Grace scored 54,000 runs, 2800 wickets & 124 centuries, with a run of 344, 177 & 318 not out. The 344 was cricket's first recorded triple century.

Cricket was beginning to become popular as a spectator sport in the 1860's. They had legalized the overarm in 1864, and spectators were pouring into cricket grounds throughout England. WG Grace came onto the scene in 1865 & soon catapulted the sport to new heights.

He was cricket's first celebrity, even appearing on a Colman's Mustard ad before the invention of radio & television.

There’s an apocryphal story that W.G. Grace was once bowled for a duck in front of a packed stadium, the ball clipping the top of off stump. As the bowler celebrated, Grace picked up the bail and said: “They’ve come to watch me bat, not you bowl, son”.

He was famous for his incredibly high backlift and aggressive style of play. He rewrote the book on technique and introduced flair to the game.

Fast forward to 2026, and we are witnessing the meteoric rise of a young man, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. He scored his first IPL century at just 15 years of age. When you watch Sooryavanshi, the first thing you notice is an enormously high, wristy backlift, even by modern standards, followed by incredibly fast hands that crunch through the ball, depositing it into the stands.

They say history moves in cycles. And in 2026, we may be watching another ultra-aggressive young batter emerge who has the potential to change the game forever.