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The Bristol woman who was a cricketing trailblazer

Martha Grace, mum of WG – icon of the sport who broke the mould and pushed boundaries. At a time when women weren’t allowed to play she loved the game. Her passion filtered down to her sons, who all played first class cricket – three of them playing for England at the same time EM, GF and most famously WG Grace. When she died in 1884 Gloucestershire were playing Lancashire, the game was postponed to allow WG and EM to travel back home to be with their family. Subsequently Martha became the first, and for many years – only, woman to appear in the ‘births and deaths’ section of the prestigious Wisden Cricketers Almanack. Authors Peris Jones and Richard Tomlinson tell her incredible story.

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3 minutes

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