A Game Sustained

159 Renewed joy: 1920 In many parts of the county it took until the second summer after the war for a full recovery to take effect. In Todmorden, for example, most players had been demobilised by the spring of 1920 so that the teams in the Todmorden and District League were at full strength and, whereas in 1919 only eight clubs had taken part in the competition, in the 1920 season the increased interest required a league of two sections, with the winners meeting in a final. In Doncaster, whereas in 1919 the local league had only consisted of eight clubs, drawn mainly from the colliery villages, so marked was the revived desire for competitive sport that in 1920 officials formed two sections of 19 minor clubs. In the past, they had suffered from a lack of proper facilities, but now in almost all the colliery villages, sports fields were being established. If there were concerns in local cricket in 1920, they mostly related to the cost of participation and the difficulties of obtaining a place to play. In March, W.G.Quaife of Messrs. Quaife and Lilley warned that cricket would be an even more expensive game than in 1919. Bats were in great demand and, although his company was still taking orders, they had many months’ work to get through. There had also been a 300 per cent increase in the cost of the cotton twine used on handles and an increase in the cost of cane. The Yorkshire Evening Post also reported the views of a manager of a Leeds sports firm, who said that everything: has increased considerably on last year’s figures, which themselves were generally about double pre-war prices. The reasons, of course, are the same as have caused increases in everything else – extra cost of labour and shortage of materials. Before the war, a best quality match cricket ball had been between 5s and 6s but in 1920 was 16s 6d. A good match bat, which in 1914 had cost 17s 6d to 21s, was now 35s to 42s. There were similar increases in the cost of pads, wicketkeeper gloves and cricket clothing. 111 Despite this, demand was strong. In May 1920, a Yorkshire