A Game Sustained

170 such as miners, or where the railways, shipyards or other essential services had a significant presence also saw cricket carry on, although even here extended working hours limited opportunities. Schools also continued to have regular fixtures throughout the war, taking on each other or playing local sides. And unless it simply took possession of a cricket field for other purposes, a military presence in an area could also help to keep the game going by providing enthusiastic opponents or by being the justification for keeping the playing surface in working order when it would otherwise be neglected. The game was sustained despite the challenges, not as an alternative to war, but as an accompaniment, a small but valuable reward for the collective endeavour at home that was taking place in support of the armed forces abroad. Put simply, cricket carried on because life carried on at home. Cricket was a part of what passed for normality during a long period of enormous upheaval in the life of the country. For all the horrors of the conflict and the toll that it took, people needed recreation, exercise and distraction for their mental and physical health, and playing and watching cricket was part of satisfying those needs. As Sir Derek Birley put it in his 1999 history of the game, as time went on, ‘The war news got no better...but the public became inured to it and, seeing it was going to be a long haul, looked for some respite.’ 116 Sufficient of those who remained at home – the bulk of the population – were determined that games should carry on, and in the absence of the threat of imminent invasion and with very limited bombing, this was possible. Cricket was sustained partly because in the end sufficient people wanted to play and watch, and were able to do so in ways that remained generally acceptable during a time of terrible stress. Thus, despite the continuous disapproval of public sport among some, many other people reached different accommodations with their consciences. That this was the case is a sign of how deep-rooted the game hadbecome inYorkshire. Cricket haddeveloped in the county during the 19th century and early 20th century, entering Concluding thoughts: Cricket, Yorkshire and the Great War