August 26, 1893 – When the England captain treated an injured Australian player

England led the 3-match Ashes series at home in 1893 by winning the 2nd Test match at The Oval by an innings and 43 runs. Australia, however, had the chance to retain the trophy if they won the final Test in Manchester. Tom Richardson’s five-wicket haul kept the Aussies down to 204 in the first innings after they elected to bat first. The hosts were good enough to take a first-innings lead all thanks to a fighting ton from Billy Gunn.

The no.4 batsman scored an unbeaten 102 batting out for nearly 250 minutes. His innings helped England to score 107 runs for the last four wickets and finish on 243. Australia were on the way towards a solid lead that could put them at least on the safe side. However, Richardson, once again claimed five wickets as the Aussies were reduced to 200/9 from 158/4. Alec Bannerman got out for 60 after a 235-minute resilience.

Helping hand from the opposition:

The last pair of Charlie Turner and the England keeper-captain needed to reduce the time left with England to chase the target. In this process, Turner was hit on his hand resulting in a dislocated finger. The opposition skipper William Gilbert Grace reached out to rescue the Australian and pulling the dislocated joint back into place.

WG Grace was a qualified doctor as he pursued his studies at Bristol Medical School in October 1868, when he was 20. He qualified as a doctor in November 1879 and gave priority to his new practice in Bristol for the next five years. Like doctors in general, his name reads Dr William Gilbert Grace, MRCS, LRCP.

Turner recovered from the blow thanks to Grace and ended up scoring 27 as he added 36 for the last wicket with Blackham. The pair helped Australia finish on 236 in their 2nd innings and set a target of 198. England didn’t show any urgency in the chase as they made 118/4 in 63 overs of play possible during the last 135 minutes of the game. England regained the Ashes by winning the Test series 1-0 having drawn the Manchester Test.

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