by Arunabha Sengupta

WG Grace was the batsman nonpareil who added several new dimensions to the art of the willow.

EM Grace was a belligerent, unorthodox strokeplayer who was one of the most promising batsmen of England before the mantle was taken over by his younger brother.

GF Grace, or Fred Grace, was younger than his illustrious brothers, and if contemporary accounts are to be believed, he was more attractive with the bat than the two great names. He was also bowled round-arm fast with considerable skill. Finally, he was one of the most outstanding fielders of his day.

More erratic than his brothers, especially WG, GF nevertheless had memorable moments at the crease. Aged 19, he scored 189 not out for Gentlemen of the South against Gentlemen of the North. Although criticised as lacking concentration to build big innings, and going for his favourite strokes impetuously, GF nevertheless had other big hundreds to his name. 165* against Yorkshire and 180* against Surrey being the best of them.

He could be a mean operator with the ball too. His 8 for 67 routed the North batting at Trent Bridge in 1876.

However, his one outstanding deed in Test matches was the catch of George Bonnor. Selected for The Oval Test, the first ever Test on English soil, he played alongside WG and EM, scored a pair and did not bowl. But there was that catch. The mighty bat of the giant named Bonnor got stuck into that ball from Alfred Shaw, the resulting hit went into the stratosphere. There was time enough for the batsman and his partner Harry Boyle to run three. However, in front of the gasometer at the Vauxhall End, GF got under the steepling skier and held a remarkable catch.

Two weeks later he contracted pneumonia while sleeping on a damp mattress. That resulted in his death at the age of 30.

He had scored 6,906 runs at 25 and captured 329 wickets at 20 from 195 matches, and had been studying for his medical degree.

Fred Grace was born on December 13, 1850