The Oval, 1882. That was the day when giants clashed, sparks flew and it resulted in the lore of The Ashes. It has seldom been revealed that in the pavilion on that famous August day sat Sherlock Holmes, his services recruited by Charles W. Alcock, Secretary of the Surrey County Cricket Club. Dr John Watson's account of the sensational events have at long last seen the light of the day. We are taken on a journey of knuckle-cracking, nail-biting cricket action along with suspense, tension, villainy and death, and the Birth of the Ashes.