Talk:MCC v Australians at Lord's, 27 May 1878

WG as captain

It's a popular misconception that Grace led this MCC team; it was actually Ridley. Here is the account of Tommy Horan who played in the match: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/197281585?searchTerm=marylebone%20cricket%20captain

124.170.112.58 (talk) 17:06, 5 November 2021 (UTC)

Well dug out! But is it possible that Horan was under a misapprehension, as the scorecards on both ESPNcricinfo and CricketArchive show Grace as being captain? Admittedly it seems unlikely that he could have been wrong, but a second source that confirms that it was Ridley would be good to have. JH (talk page) 09:54, 6 November 2021 (UTC)

The account of Jack Conway, the manager of the Australian team, concurs: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/29604383?searchTerm=marylebone%20cricket%20captain

124.170.107.170 (talk) 15:09, 8 November 2021 (UTC)

Thanks. That seems to clinch it. If you don't want to add those two as citations to the article yourself, I'll do it myself when I have a moment to spare - and if I don't forget! JH (talk page) 16:19, 8 November 2021 (UTC)

Rae's biog of Grace discusses how Grace was usually overlooked for captaincy until 1886 ashes series, presumably because of his shamateurism. 124.170.103.102 (talk) 02:51, 10 November 2021 (UTC)

It may have been that he wasn't thought to be "posh" enough, only being middle-class and provincial middle-class at that. JH (talk page) 09:43, 10 November 2021 (UTC)