The Cricket Statistician No 195

20 so he made runs, albeit very slowly. But as he grew, he was forced to deal with the best bowlers. In 1873, at the age of 14, Doyle was playing for the Third XXII and the following year he had managed to get into the Second XXII. He even played one match for the Second XI, but whilst he spent the next two years trying to get into the First XI, it never happened. In October 1876, Conan Doyle entered Edinburgh University to study medicine, but continued to be addicted to cricket. He later claimed to have played for the University, and did score 60 for the first team against the local Edinburgh Collegiate, in June 1877. But his cricket was essentially at Second XI level. Following completion of his medical studies, Arthur began work at a surgery in Birmingham, but in July 1881 he holidayed in Lismore, Ireland, and managed to play two games of cricket for the Lismore team. Having moved to Southsea, Hampshire, in 1882, he began to play regularly for the Portsmouth Borough side, and would do so until 1890. In 1885, he married Louise Hawkins. Immediately after the ceremony the couple travelled to Dublin for a honeymoon – where Arthur joined the Stonyhurst Wanderers old boys’ team for a three-match tour! Having established himself as a doctor in Hampshire, Conan Doyle began to play regular cricket not only for Portsmouth Borough but also for a number of other sides, including South Hants Club, Havant, South Hampshire Rovers, Fareham, Southsea Rovers, Hampshire Rovers, United Services Portsmouth, and one game for a Hampshire XI. In 1891, the Doyle family moved to Norwood in south London, and Arthur played more than 70 matches for the Norwood Club over the next four years. He continued to play occasional games for the Hampshire Rovers as well as other teams wherever he could. This included several matches over a number of years for the Suffolk County Asylum, when he was visiting a medical friend in Woodbridge. In 1896 he played the first of many matches for the Authors, a team made up of well-known and aspiring writers. The Sherlock Holmes stories had first appeared in 1887 and by now Arthur Conan Doyle was a celebrated author. The Authors’ last match, in which Conan Doyle played, was in August 1912, and in those sixteen years the team included well-known writers such as JM Barrie, EW Hornung (Conan Doyle’s brother-in-law), Philip Trevor, AEW Mason, PG Wodehouse and Hugh de Selincourt. In the Autumn of 1897, the familymoved to Hindhead, Surrey, and a house called Undershaw. Over the next ten years, Conan Doyle arranged a regular August cricket week at the house, where a number of matches were played by his own Undershaw XI. He continued to play for a variety of teams, including Eastbourne, Mitcham, Incogniti, the Allahakbarries (JM Barrie’s team), Grayshott and Esher. However, it was in 1899 that Arthur reached the heights when he was invited to play for MCC. Was Conan Doyle ready for the challenge? Having recently turned 40, his diary records his thoughts about the game, and considered that he must cultivate a faster leg ball with swerve, Move along the crease. Bowl two balls with leg swerve over the wicket and then one with off break from the extreme edge of the crease. His batting was showing signs of progress and he was gaining a reputation as a hitter.