A Game Sustained

128 in particular the loss of one its best players, Percy Niven. Allerton Bywater Colliery Cricket Club joined the Yorkshire Council for the first time, but although it secured three or four new players, two existing ones – Poynton, the Wakefield Trinity rugby three-quarter back, and Milner – could not play again, having been too badly injured in the war. There were also immediate practical worries. Clubs were soon faced with the reality of shortages of equipment and the consequent rise in prices, and the Sheffield Weekly Telegraph reported that there were many complaints about the cost of footballs and cricket gear. The paper asked for realism, reminding its readers that leather and rubber were munitions of war, and ‘Whole worlds of timber’ had been sunk into ‘those underground warrens of war in France and Flanders.’ To meet the urgent demands, companies like Frank Sugg (Limited) looked to recruit new cricket bat makers, tennis stringers and racquet makers, and there were also reports from Leicester of efforts to meet the growing demand for cricket boots. Restoring the leagues Just as many clubs hurried to restore themselves, so many leagues got back on their feet. In January 1919, the annual meeting of the Yorkshire Cricket Council agreed to a return to ordinary competitive cricket, and the president hoped for an end to clubs engaging county players to help them out in specific matches. He also thought it was time that the Council and the Bradford League had representation on the County Committee. Themeeting heard that 45 clubs had paid their subscriptions, but since there was still a deficit it was decided to raise a levy on each club of 10s 6d. The distances to be travelled to games were a major concern because of continuing fuel restrictions. York, for example, asked to be included in the South Yorkshire group because it contained seven of its old opponents, all of which were a reasonable distance away. However, Wakefield representatives said the expense of long-distance travel was too much and if they had to play as allocated, they might not compete at all. Getting cricket back on its feet: winter 1918/19