A Game Sustained

157 Renewed joy: 1920 post-war cricket season, and over the winter of 1919/20 many looked to build on the first tentative steps back to normality. Clubs held social events, whist drives and musical evenings, bringing friends back together and raising money in whatever ways they could. Grounds were improved and playing fields returned to pre-war standards. By March 1920, Leeds Cricket Club’s membership had been increased by about 300 one-guinea members, although some considered 3,000 was really what was needed. Other clubs also had grounds for optimism. Elsecar Cricket Club’s November 1919 gathering was described as one of the most successful of the last 20 years. In Mytholmroyd, the Wesleyan Cricket Club congratulated itself on having ‘got back almost to pre-war conditions.’ And Doncaster Cricket Club was revived with ‘considerable enthusiasm’, having been suspended during wartime. It joined the Doncaster League for 1920 and ran Thursday and Saturday teams, although it did not regain its ground until 1921 so that all matches were played away. 109 Improving club facilities was a common task. At Guiseley, the playing surface was relaid and new seating put in for the coming season, while a new ground was opened at Goole Town Cricket Club. Windhill Cricket Club erected a wooden building on its field for the sale of refreshments, which was opened by J.J.Booth, who called it a ‘red letter day’ for the club. In March 1920, Hull Zingari Cricket Club invested in its Goddard-avenue ground and enhanced the social side of the organisation, while York Cricket Club spent the significant sum of £100 on a former army hut to add to its facilities. Village sides in East Yorkshire also got back on their feet, holding annual meetings in many cases for the first time since 1914. Officials shared four-year financial statements with members and took stock, planning numerous fund- raising events and arranging repair work for pavilions and fields. Facilities were also on cricketers’ minds in Bradford, where at the first annual dinner of the Bradford Cricket League since 1914, J.J.Booth proudly announced that during the war the League had raised £6,800 for local charities and