W. G. Grace in the 1871 English cricket season

W. G. Grace played in 32 matches in the 1871 English cricket season, 25 of which are recognised as first-class. His main roles in 1871 were as captain of Gloucestershire County Cricket Club and as both match organiser and captain of the United South of England Eleven (USEE). In addition, he represented Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the Gentlemen in the Gentlemen v Players fixture and the South in the North v South series.

1871 was a cold, wet summer but nevertheless one of Grace's best seasons as a batsman for he scored 2,739 runs including 10 centuries in first-class matches at an average of 78.25, the first time anyone had scored over 2,000 runs in an English season. It was arguably his most successful season and was described by a leading cricket historian as his annus mirabilis.

Having begun his top-class career in 1864 at the age of 15, Grace had by the 1871 season established himself as the sport's outstanding player. He was unmarried and still living with his parents and his younger brother Fred Grace at the family home in Downend, near Bristol. Grace turned 23 in July 1871 and was a medical student at Bristol Medical School, having enrolled there in October 1868.Derek Birley records that it was at this time, "scorning the puny modern fashion of moustaches", that Grace grew the enormous black beard that made him so recognisable. In addition, his "ample girth" had developed for he weighed 15 stone (95 kg) in his early twenties. Grace was a non-smoker but he enjoyed good food and wine.

Grace in 1871 was principally involved with four teams: the Gentlemen, Gloucestershire County Cricket Club, Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and the United South of England Eleven (USEE). Gloucestershire was then a new club, generally understood to have been formally constituted in 1870 and had played its first two first-class matches that season. Grace had joined MCC in 1869. The USEE had been founded in 1865 and Grace had played for it occasionally but he formally joined the club in 1870 as its match organiser, for which he received payment, though he played for expenses only.

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