A Game Sustained

132 Birtles (who played for Yorkshire from 1913), as well as D.C.F.Burton and J.P.Wilson among the amateurs. While the loss of Major Booth was considered ‘irreperable’, ‘Old Ebor’ felt there was the basis for a very representative side. Some doubt was expressed as to whether the county club would be able to make use of the Bradford ground in 1919, but this was resolved, and it was also agreed that the Scarborough Festival would be revived in its traditional form. Things seemed to be falling into place. If there were some grounds for optimism, February 1919 brought fresh tragic news which threatened to undermine plans for the new season. Alonzo Drake, who had played throughout the conflict alongside his war work, suffered more of the ill-health which had dogged his pre-war career and tragically he died at his home in Honley on 14 February 1919, aged just 34. In total, Drake played 156 matches for Yorkshire. A talented all-round cricketer and a professional footballer with Sheffield United, he played initially as a batsman, but later developed into a difficult slow medium- pacer who could swerve the ball. Once in the Yorkshire side, he made a great impact until the war came, completing the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in 1913 and securing his best bowling figures of ten for 35 against Somerset in August 1914 (15 for 51 in the match). Subsequently, Drake was rejected twice for war service on health grounds. In the autumn of 1918 he began work in a local mill, but his health deteriorated over the winter and he died at home after a heart attack, with ailments thought to include cancer of the throat. 82 Yorkshire granted Drake’s widow £250. The county had now lost both of its exceptional pre-war all-rounders. Campaign against the Entertainment Tax The Entertainment Tax remained in place after the war, adding to the cost of attending cricket, as it did other places of entertainment such as theatres and art galleries. Over the winter of 1918/19, there were many demands for its removal. A campaign to this end began although, in January 1919, Lord Hawke seemed less concerned with Getting cricket back on its feet: winter 1918/19