What type of bowler was W.G Grace

[RoboRocks]

Is may be a dumb question but I can't find out, is he a medium pacer like BLIC has him or is he something else.
You can close this thread when you give me the answer.

 

[andrew_nixon]

Round arm right arm medium.

 

[RoboRocks]

A book I have says he is a slow bowler but I still am not sure

 

[andrew_nixon]

A book I have says he is a slow bowler but I still am not sure

By today's standards he would be slow. He certainly wasn't a full-time spinner, although he may have bowled a little spin as a change delivery. Most profiles I've seen describe him as I said above.

 

[RoboRocks]

The Book I have says he is a legspinner and the profile I just found says he is started out as a medium pacer then went on to be a slow bowler.

 

[andrew_nixon]

Considering he played into his 50s, it's not surprising he got slower! He wasn't a spinner as we would know them today. Medium pacers in those days would often bowl spin as a variation though. Primarily he bowled medium pace.

He was probably a similar type of bowler to the New Zealand player Chris Harris, who bowled slow medium pace with some occasional spin thrown in.

It should be remembered that he was a round arm bowler, and leg spin is pretty much impossible with a round arm action of the type Grace had.

Also, slow bowler does not always mean spinner.

 

[James_W]

Considering he played into his 50s, it's not surprising he got slower! He wasn't a spinner as we would know them today. Medium pacers in those days would often bowl spin as a variation though. Primarily he bowled medium pace.

He was probably a similar type of bowler to the New Zealand player Chris Harris, who bowled slow medium pace with some occasional spin thrown in.

It should be remembered that he was a round arm bowler, and leg spin is pretty much impossible with a round arm action of the type Grace had.

Also, slow bowler does not always mean spinner.

Yeah, just ask Ashley Giles.

 

[nightprowler10]

Yeah, just ask Ashley Giles.

Damn! Beat me to it.

Most of the profiles I have read have classified Grace as right arm medium, so I'll have to agree with Andrew here.

 

[Ritwik]

Yeah, just ask Ashley Giles.

At the risk of incurring the wrath of his many supporters (which includes me), I'd say just ask Anil Kumble.

 

[Adarsh]

At the risk of incurring the wrath of his many supporters (which includes me), I'd say just ask Anil Kumble.

I can't believe you just said that . Anil Kumble is not slow !

 

[Ritwik]

Oops yes -- a detail I missed!

 

[RoboRocks]

Do you mean when saying slow bowler, bowling spin with no spin?
Am I allowed to scan the passage from my WG Grace book to prove he bowled a bit of legspin.

 

[andrew_nixon]

Do you mean when saying slow bowler, bowling spin with no spin?

That's not what I mean. I mean bowling seam bowling at the same pace of a slow bowler.

By all means scan in the page, but remember I fully accept that he occaisonally bowled spin, but it was by no means his primary bowling style. Also remember, it would have in no way resembled leg-spin as we know it today.

Just out of interest, why did you ask if you were this convinced of the answer in the first place?

 

[RoboRocks]

I wanted to be sure, I have diiferent profiles telling me different things.
My WG Grace book says he bowled legspin and BLIC says he bowled seam-up.
I will post that bit from my book tommorrow.

 

[andrew_nixon]

Turst me, the book is wrong. Every profile I've read, plus two biographies, don't describe him as a spin bowler. He was primarily a medium pace bowler, who became a slow seam bowler has he got older. He did bowl the occasional spinning delivery, but it wasn't his primary bowling style. As I said twice before, it also would have in no way resembled leg-spin as we know it today.