but none of the last ten – and losing seven. This placed them eighth out of nine counties. Tom Emmett then took over as Captain, but the following two seasons brought mixed results as the team displayed inconsistency, often losing to teams they should comfortably have beaten. Derek Hodgson, in his official county history, suggests a lack of discipline in the team throughout these years was to blame; contemporary reports suggested the team drank too much alcohol to be effective. The players also suffered from public attention, receiving generous hospitality at times which impacted on their performances. In these seasons, the team often began well only to lose form later in the season and the Yorkshire committee was reluctant to replace the experienced cricketers with younger players. However, off the field, Yorkshire became increasingly successful, and the profits made by the club paid for improvements to be made to the Bramall Lane Ground and increased player wages through the introduction of travelling expenses and talent money where good performances were financially rewarded. An influx of what proved to be effective new players saw Yorkshire finish second to Lancashire in the unofficial Championship for 1881, but more significant was the debut for the county of Lord Hawke, then aged 21. The team faded again in 1882 and Hawke, who had refused the captaincy earlier, was appointed team captain at the end of the season, the first amateur to hold this position. Previous captains had all been professionals: Roger Iddison (1863–1872), Joseph Rowbotham (1873 and 1875), Luke Greenwood (1874), Ephraim Lockwood (1876–1877) and Tom Emmett (1878–1882). Hawke remained in charge for 28 seasons until 1910, during which time the team won eight County Championships. 1883–1918 In an obituary tribute, the editor of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack said that Lord Hawke's "strength of character was tested" when, as a young man on leaving Cambridge University, he undertook the responsibility of captaining the Yorkshire side, composed at that time of "elements that were not entirely harmonious". Owing to Hawke's "tact, judgment and integrity", he moulded the Eleven into "the best and probably the most united county cricket team in England". Yorkshire to 1883 was widely seen as an idiosyncratic team and, though Hawke's primary task as captain was to lead the team to fulfilment of its potential, his biggest challenge was to unite the club's geographical and social factions. At the end of the 1882