Hans van den Broek The central character in Joseph ONeills acclaimed 2008 novel Netherland is Hans van den Broek, a Dutchman whose attempts to make a normal life for himself in New York after the 9/11 attacks include playing cricket for the Staten Island club (which does exist: Don Bradman played there on a tour in the 1930s). In a telling line in the book, one character remarks: Theres a limit to what Americans understand. The limit is cricket.Raffles AJ Raffles, the gentleman thief, was the best-known invention of EW Hornung, who was Arthur Conan Doyles brother-in-law (this might explain why Doyle himself largely steered clear of cricket). Raffles is a talented spin bowler, who plays a lot of country-house cricket, thereby opening up many opportunities for burglary.Wilson Perhaps the ultimate comic-book hero, William Wilson the Wonder Athlete featured in The Wizard for many years from 1943. Wilson, who was apparently born in 1795 but achieved long life by slowing his heart rate down, is first seen emerging from the crowd to run the first three-minute mile. In a later series of stories he captains England to Ashes success in Australia, not long after becoming the first man to climb Everest.Pradeep Mathew A more recent addition to crickets fictional heroes is Pradeep Mathew, a mystery spinner who sets a world record in his first Test match - only to have it struck from the record books as a non-event. Mathew features in the Sri Lankan writer Shehan Karunatilakas first novel, Chinaman, which came out last year. It is narrated by one WG Karunasena, who is convinced that unlike life, sport matters, and has a son called Garfield (named after Sobers).Mike Jackson PG Wodehouse was a keen club cricketer who played occasionally at Lords, and his humorous fiction is peppered with cricket references: Jeeves, his most famous creation, is named after a Warwickshire player, while Catsmeat Potter-Pirbright, one of Bertie Woosters dissolute chums, is said to play a spot of county cricket. But Wodehouses main cricketing invention is Mike Jackson, who features in all the Psmith novels, initially as a fine batsman, starting with a match-saving innings against MCC. Murray Hedgcock edited a book called Wodehouse at the Wicket, including more of Wodehouses cricket dalliances, which was published in 1997.Spedegue Even though he was a first-class cricketer himself - his one wicket as a bowler was that of WG Grace - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle only wrote occasionally about the game. His most famous cricketing story was Spedegues Dropper, about an asthmatic schoolteacher who practised his underarm bowling by lobbing a ball underarm over a rope hitched to two tall trees. He was summoned from village cricket to an Ashes decider and - youve guessed it - won the match. Thomas Spedegue was carried shoulder-high from the field, but was told to retire immediately by his doctors.Warwick Todd The wonders of Photoshop allowed the fictional Australian cricketer Warwick Todd to be inserted into numerous photos in a series of bestselling spoof diaries a few years ago. Todd, complete with obligatory droopy moustache and an insatiable taste for ice-cold beer, is the creation of the Aussie comedy actor Tom Gleisner. The third book, Warwick Todd Goes the Tonk, is proudly advertised as being without a foreword by Richie Benaud.Flashman The fictional bully of Tom Browns Schooldays enjoyed a lengthy comeback in the detailed historical novels of George McDonald Fraser. In these gripping yarns Harry Flashman remains a coward and a cad - but also, especially in Flashmans Lady (1977), exhibits an aptitude for cricket: he takes a hat-trick at Lords for a team of Rugby old boys, and gets drawn into dealings with a shady bookmaker. Dave Podmore A fictional cricketer with a lap-dancer wife and a psychotic dog, Dave Podmore (Leicestershire and England) was the invention of Christopher Douglas, Andrew Nickolds and Nick Newman, and his hilarious adventures first appeared in theGuardian newspaper, before being turned into books and a radio series. Pods highest Test score was 4 (an edge through the slips against Sri Lanka), while probably his proudest moment was being appointed as Australias sledging coach before an Ashes series.Doctor Who Televisions most famous time traveller sported - in his fifth incarnation - a cricket sweater. Peter Davison, who played the Doctor at the time, claimed this was his idea, after the producers asked for an item of clothing that suggested action and eccentricity. In one episode the Doctor spoils a cricket match by coming on to bowl with great success, and in another the cricket ball he permanently carried in his voluminous coat pockets saves his life: in a zero-gravity situation he throws it against a spaceship and catches the rebound, and the impetus takes him safely back to the Tardis (dont try this at home).Sherlock Holmes Arthur Conan Doyles famously ascetic detective had little time for team sports such as cricket - but many people claim that his name derives from a combination of two Nottinghamshire players, Mordecai Sherwin and Frank Shacklock (c Sherwin b Shacklock was a fairly regular scorecard entry in the late 19th century). And Holmes even cleverer brother is generally held to be named after another cricketer, the Derbyshire fast bowler William Mycroft. Vans Outlet Store . The No. 1-ranked Nadal tweaked his back warming up for the Australian Open final, which he lost almost four weeks ago in a major upset against Stanislas Wawrinka. His first stop after the layoff is the clay in Rio as he tests the back and tries to stay healthy for the French Open in three months. Cheap New Balance Australia . -- Teemu Selanne scored the first goal of his 22nd NHL season, and the Anaheim Ducks extended the best start in franchise history with their fifth straight victory, 3-2 over the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. http://www.discountaustraliashoes.com/cheap-air-max-95-fake.html . As the crowd erupted, Davis knocked the ball off the glass and back into his hands. With 1:14 to go in overtime, Davis sixth block also became his 17th rebound. That, along with his 32 points -- which tied a career high -- proved too much for Denver to overcome, and the Pelicans held on for their third straight victory, 111-107 on Sunday night. Cheap Vans Australia . And when it opened, every player was at his stall. Thats a sure sign that a team is in a slump and is searching for answers. "Its embarrassing to be at home and play the way we did," said defenceman Josh Gorges. Asics Outlet Online . -- Washington Redskins tight end Fred Davis was charged Thursday with driving while intoxicated, a day after he was suspended for an NFL substance-abuse policy violation.BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- Chris Rolfe scored twice, Joel Lindpere scored his first goal of the season and added two assists and the Chicago Fire beat D.C. United 4-1 on Saturday. The victory, which snapped a two-match losing streak, moved the Fire (7-9-3) into seventh place in the Eastern Conference. Chicago is 4-2-0 in its past six matches. D.C.s road futility continued. United (2-14-4) is 0-7-3 away from home, and 1-3-1 in its past five matches overall. Rolfe scored in the second minute and also in first-half stoppage time. In both cases, he booted a floating shot over D.C. goalkeeper Joe Willis. Rolfe took a pass from Lindpere just before two minutes had elapsed and beat Willis from 18 yards for the oopening Chicago score.dddddddddddd Lindpere, who hadnt scored since September, beat Willis from 15 yards after escaping a tackle by defender Chris Korb in the 11th minute. Lindpere was set up by Jeff Larentowiczs nice pass after eluding D.C.s Daniel Wollard. Rolfe scored his fourth goal of the season with about 40 seconds left in the first half, beating Willis from 12 yards after taking a long pass from Mike Magee. The 3-0 lead was the Fires largest at halftime this season. Magee scored on a penalty kick in the 55th minute, his 12th goal of the season tying him with Vancouvers Camilo Sanvezzo. Uniteds Luis Silva beat Fire goalkeeper Paolo Tornaghi from 26 yards in the 59th minute. ' ' '