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GIANTS OF THE GAME
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than any one else in England. Grace had no objection to being hit (the greatest bowlers never have), but he would bowl half volleys to some batsmen for a catch at deep square leg, and many a wicket has he got in this way. In the ten years between 1870 and 1880 Grace scored twice as many runs as any other cricketer; and in the same period only Alfred Shaw had bowled more wickets, while his batting average was 18 points per innings higher than the second man's. Between 1880 and 1890 Shrewsbury has a slightly higher average, but Grace is second in the list; while in bowling only Lohmann, Peate, and Watson got more wickets, though he was more knocked about. The main element of Grace's batting was that he could score off balls that most batsmen would be content merely to stop; he never let balls alone, he always hit them. He did not appear even to play forward or back; he played over the crease, and it seemed as if his gigantic size and weight made the ball to go, and not wrist and forearm.