A Game Sustained

141 the title on 30 August with a better percentage of wins – 12 victories out of 26 matches to the six that Kent had secured out of 14 games. In his history of Yorkshire County Cricket, ‘Old Ebor’ recalled that the Yorkshire side did not know whether they had won until their train from Brighton arrived in London on the way to Scarborough, where the journalist himself telegraphed the London office of the Yorkshire Post to discover that Middlesex had saved their match with Kent. 91 Yorkshire were county champions for the tenth time. ‘Old Ebor’ called the season ‘brilliant’ and was joined in his enthusiasm by Colonel Philip Trevor in the Daily Telegraph . Trevor noted that although Yorkshire’s batting could be dull, there was no one who did not pull his weight and as one opponent put it, ‘You have never done with Yorkshire.’ 92 Cricket followers clearly agreed. During the season, over 112,000 spectators attended first-class matches in the county, with gross receipts of £7,293. 93 The summer had exceeded expectations, and Sutcliffe’s record of over 1,800 runs in his first season in first-class cricket was lauded as unique. Yorkshire had not only won the Championship but had unearthed players who were likely to make big names for themselves in the coming seasons. Because of this, the entire squad was retained for the 1920 season. The county club and its professionals At the end of the 1919 season the only cloud for Yorkshire was the suggestion that Wilfred Rhodes had signed for Haslingden in the Lancashire League. Such rumours continued until January 1920, when it was reported that he had signed a three-year contract. Throughout the war, the club’s approach to its players was firm but benevolent, with support given but on the very clear understanding that they contributed to thewar effort. Therewas considerable concern shown for those who were overseas (and their families), and this continued after the Armistice. 94 Around the same time Lord Hawke reported that through him, George Hirst had again been offered an appointment to coach at Eton, and – having discouraged him previously – it was thought to be in A wonderful relief: 1919