A Game Sustained

11 Cricket, war and the ethical dilemma result, those at home were given the impression that the government felt that much of life could carry on as normal. 8 Initially, hopes of an early finish to the conflict influenced some cricketers. In February 1915, for example, the committee of YorkshireCountyCricket Clubdecided to act on the advice of the MCC’s Advisory County Cricket Committee (which considered matters arising out of domestic cricket) and stated that, in the event of the war ending or nearing a conclusion, it would arrange friendlies for the summer at Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield and Harrogate. At the end of April 1915, although nothing was definite, it was also reported that Scarborough would host the cricket festival in September, as long as the outlook was ‘much improved’. Only two months later did the Yorkshire Post regret that there was no chance of any serious county match that year, and said it was more a question of whether county cricket would happen in 1916. Even then, the optimists were not discouraged and at the Yorkshire County Cricket Club annual meeting in January 1916, Lord Hawke was asked whether efforts would be made to play county cricket if the war was over by June. His response was that it would be difficult to get teams together, and he warned that apart from games to celebrate the peace it was likely that there would only be limited time for cricket. Instead, the country would need to focus on more important priorities such as regaining lost trade. Nevertheless, as the war continued, it seemed there were always some who expected an imminent end to the conflict, after which it was assumed that county cricket would resume rapidly. People responded differently to thewar, their feelings shaped by political, personal, moral and cultural views. Early century complacency about the superiority of British military power among the ruling elite continued and meant that in 1914, ‘Britain found herself with a force ridiculously ill-suited to the task which confronted it.’ 9 This complacency also led to many wealthy people avoiding wartime restrictions so that it has been suggested that ‘life was no less lavish after August 1914; in fact, opportunities for excitement increased.’ Some were so blatant that even The Times commented in 1917