A Game Sustained

68 Shocks to the system: 1916 The Council left it to clubs to decide whether their matches should be classed as ‘competitive’ or not. Consequently, when the league tables were published in the ‘papers, footnotes were included to explain that some teams were not playing at all in 1916, and others were not competing for the Championship. Despite these sensible changes, the league experienced problems and at the end of May some sections had ‘not yet got fully into working order’. Other leagues considered their options. A letter to the Huddersfield press suggested distributing available players around the clubs to increase competition, while rules were changed in the Huddersfield League to enable players to register as late as the Thursday before a game. 52 In Sheffield, at the annual meeting of the Bird Cricket League, members decided that if sufficient teams joined they would divide into two divisions, although the following month they were still looking for two more clubs to make this work. The league continued to take things seriously; in August 1916 it met to consider fines, and players and officials from one club were suspended until they had paid. The press too took things seriously and despite the challenges faced by so many clubs and leagues, certain newspapers still wanted to cover their activities. In March 1916, the Star Green’un again urged clubs to notify it of their meetings so they could be reported; although, with three-quarters of its journalists serving, it feared it could not always promise to send someone along. Once the season was under way, it awarded a ball for the best batting and bowling performances in any league match, but only if the player’s club was a regular contributor to the paper’s gossip forum. The expansion of professionalism While some clubs considered whether they could carry on at all, the success of Jack Hobbs and Sydney Barnes in the Bradford League in 1915 led to other clubs engaging professional assistance. In January 1916, Keighley signed Frank Woolley who, having been rejected by the army, was expected to be employed locally as a munitions worker.