A Game Sustained

80 Shocks to the system: 1916 on the Saturday. By the following Monday, however, the papers had had time to digest the news of Booth’s death and were full of tributes. His death shocked former colleagues and after a war charity match at Halifax, he was remembered by Sir Archibald White and George Hirst. As ‘Old Ebor’ put it, Booth’s loss was not just of a cricket colleague but also a dear personal friend, ‘who in the course of his too brief career had distinguished himself by courage and grit’. And, he added, ‘the spirit of men like Major Booth will never depart the cricket field. He died, as his cricket captain well said, doing his duty.’ War charity cricket The successful experience of fund-raising matches in the second half of the 1915 season led to more being played the next summer. In April 1916, the Halifax Borough and West Riding Police made arrangements for a game at Halifax on Whit Tuesday. Leonard Oliver, the Derbyshire amateur, offered to captain one side while Lord Hawke promised Yorkshire’s help. A Leeds and Huddersfield match in aid of the Earl of Scarbrough’s West Riding War Fund was also planned for the middle of summer, with Hawke expected to captain the Leeds side. The same month, a match between a Captain Flanagan’s XI and a Leeds and District XI at Thrum Hall, Halifax was arranged, the teams including Woolley and Barnes; Walter Lees, the Yorkshire-born Surrey all-rounder; Rhodes, Denton and B.B.Wilson. On 8 July, the Halifax police match was played, having been postponed at Whitsuntide. Despite the weather, around £200 was raised, with Sir Archibald White and C.J.B.Wood of Leicestershire as captains. While efforts were made to organise games in other parts of the county, in Sheffield there was concern about local apathy as well as a lack of famous players visiting Bramall Lane as they had Bradford. Some observers feared the town would pay dearly for ‘the lack of enterprise’. Charity matches continued over the summer. On 18 July, what was described as a ‘semi-county’ match was arranged