Lives in Cricket No 8 - Ernest Hayes

conditions seemed to be against him. He notes in his scrapbook: ‘This brought the season to mid-June & I was chosen for the County v Lancashire, having to go in and bat at 6 o’clock in a bad light and only getting 7. Then v Oxford University 5, although I managed to get 4 of the best wickets. It was a funny thing this year that, whenever I played for the 1st XI, I had to go in at about 6 o’clock in a funny light.’ An innings of 35 not out on a ‘sticky’ against Middlesex followed, then a couple of undistinguished performances meant that he was again dropped to the second eleven before reappearing against Hampshire. On this occasion, he managed to survive the ‘funny’ evening light and was able to continue his innings the following morning, receiving some complimentary comments from the press: The brightest partnership of the day was the first. Abel who had been respited from the overnight trials, opened the ball with Hayes, and the youngster began scoring with delightful zest and freedom. In one over he rapped off ten runs and hit all round with such vigor [sic] that we began to look forward to a century. But when the score stood at 74 he was neatly caught by Lee off Tate. His 38 was knocked off in about three-quarters of an hour and served as a welcome promise for the future. I should like to see Hayes make a lot of runs for he possesses a most attractive style of batting. There is plenty of grace and easiness to his methods and in these degenerate days when care is exercised almost to weariness we can well afford to have a batsman amongst us who is willing to hit out without fear. However, he remained on the margins of the first eleven and his selection was up and down like a lift in a Peckham tower block. It was with some jaundice in his pen that he wrote: ‘The following match, v Middlesex at Lord’s, I was sent up to play, but Mr Key decided that Smith should play. I went back to the Oval where the 2nd XI were playing Durham and scored 113 & 20 on a sticky wicket. I may add Smith did not get many wickets (2 I think) & the match was lost v Middlesex, for want of a batsman to stay just 10 minutes to save the game.’ Notwithstanding, his century at The Oval gained him the plaudits of the press: ‘Hayes and Lees, whose partnership of an hour added an invaluable 105 for the third wicket. Hayes reached his century in two hours and a quarter and when he was finally caught in the Surrey Pro 23