A Game Sustained

37 Keeping going: 1914-1915 this way, the fact that they worked long, but nevertheless regular, hours on shift work, gave them the opportunity to maintain a direct connection with the game, although on occasions players were required to work all night so they could turn out on the cricket field during the day. The season of 1915 – Part 1 With so many men away or involved in demanding war work, the circumstances of the 1915 season were unprecedented. Despite this, both the scale of the re-emergence of the game in many parts of the county, and the seriousness with which it was conducted, were remarkable. In Bradford, the 1915 season kicked off in the middle of April in fine weather. The leagues around Huddersfield started a week later. Several sides played without professional help and teenagers replaced many of the regulars. In some areas, big programmes got under way. On 22 May, for example, in two of Sheffield’s main leagues – the Hallamshire and the Norton and District – no fewer than 85 clubs were engaged in competition. The Yorkshire Cricket Council friendlies also began, not looking very different to competitive cricket. As well as all the club players who resumed their pastime, a number of Yorkshire county cricketers who did not have military duties turned out for local clubs, but without payment. This was justified by the county club on the ground that it maintained local interest in the game and more importantly, helped raise money for patriotic funds later in the season. In 1915, Yorkshire county players took part in over 120 matches and many requests from clubs had to be turned down, such was the demand. Rhodes and Hirst also played for Kirkheaton at times, while Drake (who was rejected by the military authorities on health grounds including a throat infection, firstly in the autumn of 1914, and again later) appeared for Honley. Each of these players, with David Denton, remained engaged by Yorkshire County Cricket Club. The arrangements for payments received from the club were carefully linked to their contribution to the war effort. In June 1915, a doctor’s certificate was