William Mycroft is a suggestion that Arthur Conan Doyle derived the name of Mycroft the older brother of Sherlock Holmes from William Mycroft. Conan Doyle was a first-class cricketer who later played for MCC and had a respect for fast bowlers. Mycroft played his last first-class match for MCC in 1886. He umpired four first-class matches before his retirement and later umpired two more during the 1891 season. He died of influenza at the age of 53 in Derby. Mycroft's half-brother, Thomas, played for Derbyshire between 1877 and 1885. William Mycroft William Mycroft (1 February 1841 – 19 June 1894) was an
Thomas Mycroft and played two games for MCC. In 1885 he played a single MCC V Derbyshire match in which he had a small bowling spell for Derbyshire. In 1887 he played for South against North and his final match was for MCC against Oxford University. Mycroft was wicket keeper in all but two first-class games when he bowled in all 44 balls without a wicket. He was a left-handed batsman and played 46 innings in 24 first-class matches with a top score of 24 not out and an average of 7.78. Mycroft returned to the game as an umpire, from 1897