A Game Sustained

166 Yorkshire suffered a first defeat – by 204 runs - against Surrey at Sheffield, where 40,000 attended the match. The Sheffield Independent considered that Bramall Lane had never witnessed such a Saturday crowd, with the turnstiles ‘choked’ and some spectators battering down one of the gates on the Shoreham street side so that they could pour in. Such attendances further encouraged supporters to believe the game had stemmed any declining popularity. An article in the Leeds Mercury in June 1920 noted that ‘where there is promise of bright batting, and keen fielding, there is no fear of the county game becoming moribund through lack of support.’ The paper considered this could also be seen in how eagerly men turned to the cricket scores on the trains and trams, and it was pleased to note that the lack of punctuality, long-drawn-out intervals and ‘many little irritations under which spectators have groaned are things of the past’. The game had taken some time to settle, but the Sheffield Daily Telegraph felt the new faces were now familiar to cricket followers, the strengths and weaknesses of the counties were clearer, and one only had to ‘look round the suburbs of this or any other English town on a Saturday afternoon to see that cricket has still its old fascination’. The 1920 season was universally regarded as a huge success, despite some appalling weather. The excitement generated by one of the most dramatic Championship races ever reinforced the place that cricket had retaken in the life of the nation and washed away memories of the previous season’s annoyances. From Yorkshire’s perspective, however, it proved disappointing. Notwithstanding 2,000 runs from Percy Holmes and nearly 300 wickets from Rhodes and Waddington combined, the county’s performances that summer were too variable to merit the title again. They finished fourth, losing six times compared to Middlesex’s two, with the Londoners worthy winners. Nevertheless, a renewed side was coming together and would shortly become a dominating – if not necessarily popular – force in English cricket which would win the championship each year from 1922 to 1925. Renewal was also seen in the continuing effort made to repair the county grounds, with Renewed joy: 1920