A Game Sustained

176 from what ‘Old Ebor’ described as the ‘big revival of cricket interest’. Old rituals were reinvigorated but new outlets were also found in the form of evening cricket, expanding works-based competitions, and in the growth in junior and women’s cricket. Restoring cricket meant a new mood of seriousness around the game, reinforced by the restoration of old rules and practices. In April 1920, ‘Old Ebor’ commented approvingly that the days when Yorkshire county players were at liberty to play with any Yorkshire Council club were over. The Council had now returned to full competition and it was considered completely wrong for players to appear for one club one week and another the week after. Eligibility regulations had been relaxed in some leagues during the war, but in peacetime there was a reassertion of expectations and a re-imposition of penalties for failure to adhere to the rules. In January 1920, for example, Lidget Green was fined £5 for approaching George Gunn, the Nottinghamshire and England player, who was on Undercliffe’s books. Similar concerns were reflected in a special meeting in June 1920 when Linthwaite objected to two Slaithwaite players for allegedly living outside the five-mile residence limit in place. Officials from three clubs examined a map before deciding that the players lived well within the area provided for by the rules. The game now needed to be taken seriously again. Another reason for the swift revival of the game was that it had become a highly professionalised and relatively commercial activity before the war, and for many of the best players there was a living to be made again from the game. Men from all walks of life returned from the war to their previous employment; cricketers were no different and many, including the most famous, did not have the luxury of not returning promptly to a profession likely to pay them more than they could gain elsewhere. Those who had been in or at the edges of the county team before the conflict were eager to restart and make up for lost time. For some, like Herbert Sutcliffe, the war had taken some of the best years of their fledgling careers. Sutcliffe’s commanding officer Concluding thoughts: Cricket, Yorkshire and the Great War