WG Grace – photo by Herbert Rose Barraud (1845-1896) , Wikipedia

The Chronicle (Newcastle, England) reports that a bat used by the great cricketer WG Grace is coming up for auction. The Canadian connection is that the owners bought for $20 in a Canadian antiques store some years ago. The owner’s daughter is quoted:-
“My father was a huge cricket fan and member of the M.C.C. He discovered the bat whilst on a medical trip to Canada and couldn’t resist it, paying about 20 dollars for it. It is an amazing story.
“We believe that Strachan played cricket for Canada and that is perhaps how the bat came to be there. It took pride of place in my father’s home. We are sorry to have to sell it, but feel it is time it gave another cricket fan the same enjoyment as it gave my father.”
A quick review of Strachan’s information on CricketArchive and other sites provides no evidence of him living or playing in Canada, so how the bat crossed the Atlantic remains a mystery.
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