A Game Sustained

120 pavilion was in a state of decay and disrepair, and looked like it would need overhauling in peacetime. There was also a very sombre side to proceedings. Just before the game, Schofield Haigh heard of the death of his son, who was in the RAF, and withdrew from the Yorkshire side. The following day, a Yorkshire XI appeared at Ripon against a Ripon Reserve Centre side in a one-day match. The military side was out for 94 and Yorkshire responded with 226, of which David Denton made 119. Although drawn, the match was a financial success. The next day, Yorkshire also met a Royal Artillery Ripon side, which included a number of county players. There seemed no lack of interest in the games at Ripon, which were so successful in raising over £300 for war charities that a further two-day fixture between an England XI and R.A.Command Depot was arranged. Percy Holmes made 113 and put on 130 in 70 minutes for the first wicket with George Gunn, the Nottinghamshire and England batsman. Another wartime summer had come to a conclusion, but with many desparately hoping that it would be the last. The war ends In mid-October 1918, the Star Green’un wondered whether Yorkshire County Cricket Club’s obvious eagerness to gather in subscriptions was a sign that the club was thinking seriously about the possibility of next season’s programme. At the end of the month, the county committee agreed that more county cricket would be played in 1919 than in the last four years but would not make a definite statement other than that special attention would be paid to charity matches, including in Bradford’s Bowling Tide week. Funds were to be allotted to club grounds again to help them out with maintenance costs. In a highly unusual move, in the light of all his war charity work, F.W.Elam was given permission by the county committee to wear a Yorkshire county blazer and cap, even though he had only played two first-class matches nearly two decades before. And then it ended. Finally, after more than four years, Struggling through to the end: 1918