Two weeks after his eighteenth birthday, W.G. Grace scored 224 not out for England against Surrey at the Oval — his maiden first-class century, his first double-hundred, and the innings that, in Harry Altham's phrase, made him 'thenceforward the biggest name in cricket'. On the second afternoon his captain V.E. Walker let him slip away to Crystal Palace to win the National Olympian Association 440 yards hurdles race; he then returned to bat on.
Grace had played 14 first-class matches before the 1866 season without scoring a century. His brothers E.M. and Henry had both already made big scores; the family expectation was high. The Oval pitch in 1866 was slow and uneven, harder for batsmen than batters of later eras might assume.
Surrey, weakened by the absence of one of their fast bowlers, batted first and reached a respectable 268. England's reply was anchored by Grace from early on the second morning. By lunch he had passed his first first-class fifty; by tea he was past 150 and the only question was whether he would tire.
By the summer of 1866 Grace was already the most talked-about young cricketer in England, but he had yet to score a first-class hundred. England v Surrey at the Oval, played 30 July to 1 August, gave him the chance. Surrey scored 268 in their first innings. England, with Grace at number two, replied with 521. Grace, dropped early, batted through the rest of the innings for 224 not out — his maiden first-class century reached at a single bound and turned at once into a double. The innings was technically remarkable for its straight driving and on-side play; contemporaries noted the way he moved his feet on a slow Oval pitch that had bowlers' marks in the rough. The most-told anecdote of the innings concerns its second day. The National Olympian Association was holding athletics at Crystal Palace, and Grace had entered the 440 yards hurdles race over twenty hurdles. With his score on around 50 and Walker happy to let his amateurs have their indulgences, the captain agreed to a temporary retirement. Grace took a hansom to Sydenham, won the hurdles in 70 seconds, and returned to the Oval to resume his innings. England won by an innings and a few. Surrey, beaten heavily, were a second-tier county for the rest of the decade. Grace's career as a run-machine had begun.
Day 1: Surrey post 268 in their first innings
Day 2 morning: Grace passes 50 with the score still under 150
Day 2 afternoon: Walker permits Grace to leave for Crystal Palace
Grace wins the 440 yards hurdles in 70 seconds
Grace returns to the Oval and resumes his innings
Grace reaches his maiden first-class hundred
Grace reaches 200, the first of the 13 first-class double-hundreds he would score
Day 3: Grace finishes unbeaten on 224; England win by an innings
30 Jul 1866
Match begins; Surrey 268
31 Jul 1866
Grace bats through day two; hurdles diversion at Crystal Palace
1 Aug 1866
Grace finishes 224 not out; England win by an innings
“He was thenceforward the biggest name in cricket and the main spectator attraction.”
“The boy is a marvel; he is far above any cricketer of his age that I have ever seen.”
Grace's reputation was now established beyond argument. He scored a further century later in the 1866 season and added another in 1867. By 1868 he was averaging over 50 in first-class cricket. The hurdles win at Crystal Palace gave the press a story that has been retold in every Grace biography since.
The innings that turned a promising teenager into the central figure in English cricket and, within five years, the first global sporting celebrity.
The 224 not out is the conventional starting line for Grace's batting career. It was the first really big score by a teenager in first-class cricket, and the manner of its making — patience, footwork, and the famous ability to stay at the wicket all day — set the template for his career. The Crystal Palace anecdote has become shorthand for the casual amateurism of mid-Victorian cricket.
Yorkshire v Essex
1932-06-16
On 15-16 June 1932 Herbert Sutcliffe (313) and Percy Holmes (224*) put on 555 for the first wicket against Essex at Leyton, breaking the world first-class record for any wicket and adding a layer of folklore — including a scoreboard that read 554 for several minutes and a hastily reversed declaration — that has clung to the partnership ever since.
Australia v England
1933-02-14
With the fate of the Bodyline series in the balance and England 216 for 6 chasing 340, Eddie Paynter checked himself out of a Brisbane hospital where he was being treated for acute tonsillitis, taxied to the Gabba in pyjamas and a dressing gown, and batted for nearly four hours to score 83. England drew level on first innings, won the Test by six wickets and the series 4-1.
Australia
1934-09-25
Days after the 1934 Oval Test, Bradman fell seriously ill with appendicitis that progressed to peritonitis. With antibiotics not yet available, he was given little chance of survival; his wife Jessie left Adelaide on a sea voyage to England prepared for the worst. He recovered after weeks of intensive nursing in a London nursing home and returned to first-class cricket the following Australian summer.