A Game Sustained

158 Renewed joy: 1920 war funds, and provided healthy sport for 1.25 million people. He also remarked that the league had, some years previously, been offered the Bradford Park Avenue ground for 20 years, and in view of subsequent events he thought it had been a mistake not to take up the offer. The saga over the purchase continued. By March 1920, £8,000 had been privately subscribed and it was hoped that the public would ensure they met the target of £12,500. Other cricket leagues also appeared to be on a sound footing by the start of 1920 and looked for ways to strengthen themselves. At the Yorkshire Council meeting in November 1919, members discussed the important task of encouraging young players, with the match with the Yorkshire Second XI spoken of as an important way of identifying new prospects. The Council also backed the county’s position on the question of player availability for first-class cricket, F.W.Elam proposing that no player be picked for representative matches who would not pledge himself to play for his county if required. The motion was carried unanimously. In April 1920, the Council further agreed that county players could not take part in the competition unless they were bona fide members of clubs. Elsewhere, league cricket found its feet again over the winter. In February 1920, the Norton and District League was considered to have made ‘a remarkable recovery from the effects of war-time stagnation’ and the number of clubs involved – 61 – was higher than in pre-war days. Each club had its own ground, and the rearrangement of the divisions had been more convenient for the clubs affected. The Hallam Cricket League and the Yorkshire Central Cricket League decided to restart, the latter having not been active since 1914. 110 In Huddersfield, the Huddersfield and District Cricket League was reconstructed and enlarged, with rules based on the Bradford League model, while a new Harrogate and District Cricket League was established, with a silver challenge cup for the winner. In East Yorkshire, Driffield Cricket Club established an evening league for local clubs, to be played in June and July 1920.