Lives in Cricket No 8 - Ernest Hayes

The natives, who form the majority of the spectators, have caused us much amusement by their enthusiasm, for they closely watch every ball bowled and yell with glee if a four is hit or a wicket falls and when their own side are batting generally shouting out advice to them on how to play . . . Capt Wynyard and Ebdon opened our innings against the bowling of Morrison and Moiston. The latter is a native and a really good slow leg break bowler. . . . Nelson, another native who was keeping wicket, proved himself throughout the match a really good stumper. The correspondent of The Sportsman was certainly impressed by the standard of cricket he met on the island: The cricket was certainly much better than we had been led to expect, and they have evidently improved since the last visit of English cricketers. Several of their best players are quite young and there is no reason, if the interest in cricket here is kept up, that in a year or two they should not have a really good team. One more word of praise to them for their fine fielding which all through was quite as good as that of any county side I have seen. Notwithstanding, the All West Indies side lost the first soi-disant Test match by an innings and 17 runs, but gave a better account of themselves in the second, losing a close encounter by just four runs. The itinerary was intensive – Jamaica, Barbados, St Lucia, Barbados again, Demerara, Barbados for a third time, St Vincent, Trinidad and back to Plymouth. There was also to have been a trip to Grenada, but that was cancelled because of an outbreak of smallpox on the island. The cricket was, however, tempered by picnics and social events, such as dinners with multiple and doubtless seemingly interminable speeches. As in Jamaica, in Barbados too, local exuberance was unavoidable, though far from unwelcome. He reports: ‘The natives were most excited, running all round us when we were leaving the field and shouting expressions of approval. One man took hold of Thompson’s arm and kissed it. As we drove back to the hotel, they lined the streets and danced about in a most amusing manner.’ Hayes was to have a century against Barbados, as well as half-a-dozen economical wickets and a further century against 46 Overseas Trips and Chaos at The Oval