Flashback: The first instance of two brothers opening the batting in a Test

Brothers representing the country is a proud feeling for any family. Siblings donning the same team jersey is a special achievement for their parents to witness. Grace brothers, Edward and WG, were the first pair to open the batting in Test cricket and they did so way back in the year 1880.

England’s Edward Grace and William Gilbert Grace became the first brothers to open the batting in the history of Test cricket when they walked out against arch-rivals Australia at The Oval 142 years ago. The second instance of the two brothers opening the innings came in 1969 when the Mohammad brothers shared the opening stand against New Zealand in Karachi.

Talking about the Grace duo, the Aussies toured the United Kingdom for a one-off Test in 1880, which was also the first-ever Test played on England soil. The English side batted first and Edward and William opened the innings.  The former scored 36 off 94 with the help of four fours while William had a memorable outing.

He smashed 152 off 294, which included 12 fours as England posted a mammoth total of 420 in their first innings. The home side went on to win the encounter by five wickets to seal the one-off Test match. Born on November 28, 1841, Edwards played just that solitary match for his country. He took his last breath on May 20, 1911, as he died aged 69y 173d.

His brother William was born on July 18, 1848, and he appeared in 22 Test matches for England. In 36 innings, he amassed 1098 runs at an average of 32.29 which included two centuries and five half-centuries with the highest score of 170. His last appearance came against Australia in Nottingham in June 1899. On October 23, 1915, William Gilbert passed away aged 67y 97d.