A Game Sustained

57 Keeping going: 1914-1915 temporarily failed, the vacancy in the league would be filled by re-admitting another club. Nevertheless, officials were determined to renew efforts to revive the Bradford club and, if successful, guaranteed its inclusion for 1917. Of interest also to Bradford cricketers was the news that the Lancashire Cricket League had decided that clubs would not be able to register professionals until February 1916, when a meeting would consider the matter further. This held out the prospect that uncertainty in Lancashire might be to the benefit of Bradford cricket. Over the autumn and winter many clubs looked forward with some trepidation to the uncertain prospects of cricket in 1916. In September 1915, officials of Driffield Cricket Club issued an anxious sounding letter to members and patrons urging them to forward subscriptions for the past season as soon as possible, and reminding them that because of the war this was the only form of income the club had. Officials at Paddock Cricket Club considered it had had a very trying but creditable summer and hoped the ‘black cloud’ hanging over the country would pass away soon. In Halifax, there was dismay that a number of local Yorkshire Cricket Council clubs had induced some Parish League clubs to join a new Halifax and District Council League, which meant that other Parish League clubs were now faced with the prospect of playing each other twice to fill their fixture list. Members of the Huddersfield and District Cricket League also considered they had had a good year, as did the Hallamshire Cricket League. Hallamshire decided to hand over the balance on the season to a fund for ‘comforts’ for wounded soldiers, rather than spend it on new trophies. The league’s officials also agreed to hold a meeting in March 1916, when they could see which players were left. The Honorary Secretary referred to correspondence from the Yorkshire Cricket Council suggesting some form of federation of leagues under one management committee. In November 1915, the Council’s plans for 1916 were revealed, which involved enlargement and re-organisation into five sections. The York and Scarborough clubs were not