A Game Sustained

33 Keeping going: 1914-1915 further and wanted to avoid even the expense of practising so that it was decided not to play at all. Nearby, Whitby Cricket Club also decided to close due to a lack of interest, financial difficulties and a dearth of players. A similar situation was seen at Stokesley and Great Broughton in North Yorkshire, where difficulties in arranging fixtures brought things to a close. At Castle Howard, the club announced it would not play ‘cricket as usual’ during 1915 with so many men away, and at Nafferton near Driffield, cricket club members did not handle a bat or ball all summer. For other clubs, it took a little longer to realise they had difficulties, but the experience of the initial weeks of the new season led some to decide to curtail their programmes prematurely. Bishop Burton Cricket Club, for example, opted to abandon its fixture list at the end of May because a shortage of players had made it too hard to put a side out. Other clubs faced financial difficulties or recognised that their choices would affect their finances. Bradford Cricket Club wrote to the Yorkshire county club at the end of 1914 to advise that it was in a critical financial position. Baildon Green increased its membership fee for adults from 3s to 4s for 1915 to raise more money from a smaller number of members. Rotherham Town’s finances were in a reasonable state despite a loss of £37 in 1914. Gate receipts had fallen, however, so the chairman suggested it was time to economise and be run on the lines of a golf club, with members taking on more of the tasks. On the other hand, Doncaster Town had no choice but to stop playing as the military authorities took over its ground, although it remained open as an institution. It received £4 15s compensation and the local council reduced the rent due from £10 to £5, but the club remained in debt. While some clubs had reservations about competitive cricket or closed entirely, as spring 1915 arrived, others prepared for the new season with surprising energy. Saltaire Cricket Club’s annual report noted that the club had finished near the bottom of the Bradford League in 1914 and consequently members decided to seek professional help for the new