The creator of Sherlock Holmes was also a fine cricketer

Sherlock Holmes is undoubtedly one of the most celebrated fictional characters. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of the famous character, is a legendary name in literature and the Sherlock Holmes stories are considered to be milestones in the field of crime fiction. Apart from being a celebrated writer and a physician, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a cricketer. 

There is nothing spectacular in his seven-year career for Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) if you go by his stats. 231 runs at an average of 19.25 and a solitary wicket can look pretty ordinary. But the wicket he got, which eventually remained his only one, was quite special. 

On May 29, 1903, Doyle got the wicket of WG Grace, one of the finest cricketers in history. The delivery was a pretty ordinary one and Grace decided to dispatch it with all his might. But he miscued it and the catch was taken by the keeper. 

It is said that the name of the character Mycroft Holmes, the brother of Sherlock, was inspired from Thomas Mycroft, who was one of the umpires in that very match. Another theory suggests that Mycroft was named after Derbyshire fast bowler William Mycroft.

But the most interesting of all legends is that Sherlock was named as a combination of two Nottinghamshire cricketers- Sherwin and Shacklock.

He was never a famous cricketer, but his obituary in 1931 read, "He could hit hard and bowl slows with a puzzling flight."