Grace cannot be analysed by comparing his career averages to modern players as the game was very different then* and in any case he continued playing for literally decades after his peak. The true class of Grace shows through when you compare his performances season by season against his leading contemporaries. When he began playing first class cricket, the other leading batsmen were Robert Carpenter, Tom Hayward and Richard Daft. Their career averages were in the mid 20s, although they all achieved multiple seasonal averages of over 30. For around ten years between approximately 1866 and 1876, Grace would routinely be the best batsman in England by an absolute mile, averaging 50-80 where the next best batsman averaged about 30, and score 5-10 centuries when nobody else managed more than 1.
Leading batsmen in 1869
Leading batsmen in 1870
Leading batsmen in 1871
Leading batsmen in 1872
Leading batsmen in 1873
Leading batsmen in 1874
Leading batsmen in 1875
Leading batsmen in 1876
Between 1866 and 1876, Grace scored 16,264 runs in first class cricket @ 56.66 with 56 centuries. Over this period, the next highest run scorer was Harry Jupp who made 11,000 runs @ 24.88 with 8 centuries and the next highest average (among regular players) was recorded by Richard Daft who made 5,379 runs @ 32.60 with 6 centuries. No one, not even Bradman, has ever achieved a greater level of dominance over their peers, and despite being a paper amateur he was very influential in developing a hardened professional mentality towards the sport.
*When W.G. Grace emerged in the 1860s:
1. Pitch preparation was in its infancy, and the quality of pitches was, by modern standards, horrific. Batsmen regularly had to put up with balls shooting along the ground or bouncing alarmingly from a good length. If I remember correctly, it was not unusual to receive three shooters in one over and then to have the next delivery sailing over your head.
2. Overarm bowling was only legalised in 1864 (the year of Grace's first class debut) and roundarm bowling continued to be more commonly used for the next couple of decades.
3. Swing bowling was non existent. It would first be effectively used by Bart King and George Hirst around the turn of the century.
4. Googlies and doosras were yet to be discovered. The googly was discovered by Bernard Bosanquet around 1900 and the doosra was discovered by Sonny Ramadhin in the 1950s before being "lost" and then rediscovered by Saqlain Mushtaq in the 1990s.
5. Lob bowling was a respected art form. Some lob bowers even represented England, the last being George Simpson-Hayward as late as 1910.
6. Most fast bowlers span the ball.
7. Footwork was looked down upon.
8. Some shots we take for granted were yet to be invented. For example, the leg glance was invented by Ranjitsinhji in the 1890s. Hook shots were very rare. The reverse sweep did not exist.
9. Hitting a full toss was considered "bad manners" and smashing a long hop was considered "immoral". Grace changed all this by unifying the elements of batting, playing forward and back, playing the bat parrallel with the front pad, smashing all balls that deserved the treatment etc.
By the end of Grace's career four decades later, top class cricket had evolved into something comparable to the modern first class game.
