William Mycroft with 58 and took five wickets in an innings six times. In the following years Mycroft played for both Derbyshire and MCC on a regular but less frequent basis. In the 1885 season, Mycroft played his penultimate game in a match between MCC and Derbyshire at Lords. His brother Thomas, who also played for both teams, was also playing one of his last games and on this occasion Thomas took a stint of bowling instead of wicket-keeping. The main bowlers on the opposing sides were Sherwin and Shacklock. The first Sherlock Holmes story was published two years later and there
Thomas Mycroft season. In the 1878 season he played one game for Derbyshire against the All England XI but started playing predominantly for MCC. Derbyshire over the period was well served by their regular wicket-keepers Alfort Smith and James Disney. Mycroft played a large number of non-status matches for MCC against local clubs until 1883 and one or two first-class matches for MCC each year. In 1882 against Hampshire he took a rare bowling stint of 7 overs without gaining a wicket but scored 11 and 10 in his two innings. In the 1884 season Mycroft played ten county matches for Derbyshire,