Lives in Cricket No 8 - Ernest Hayes

Dudley, even though Hayward, the senior professional, was in the side. The press commented on his consistency. In consecutive innings in the second half of June, he had 143 not out, 90, 38, 40, 117, 37, 16, 85 and 69. Once again, his claims for international selection were advanced: Comparisons are odious, but when the recent doings of Hayes are compared with one (if not more) member of the English eleven, it is difficult to understand why he has been ignored so far for the Test matches, and even the trial games. Is it assumed that he does not possess the Test match temperament as it is called? As suggested earlier, it was probably less a question of temperament than of a combination of batting style and bad luck through illness and injury, but he was eventually given a further opportunity to resurrect his Test career when chosen for three of the Triangular Tournament matches between England, Australia and South Africa. This experimental tournament, itself the brainchild of the infant Imperial Cricket Conference, aroused little interest and has never since been repeated, except in the form of three-way limited overs international competitions. The ill-fortune which had accompanied his earlier international career again reared its head and he played in only one game, making four in the eighth match against South Africa which England won by ten wickets. He had earlier been omitted from the final selection against Australia at Old Trafford in a match in which the Manchester weather restricted play to five hours and allowed only one innings to be completed. Then he was ruled out of consideration for the deciding match at The Oval when influenza put him out of action for three days. Promise was again unfulfilled. A local newspaper happily reported the selection: ‘The selection of Ernest Hayes will be cordially welcomed and on form the honour has not come a moment too soon. . . . Mr E.G.Hayes, who resides with his friend Mr R.B. Depledge 14 at Whitcomb Lodge, Wellington-road, Hounslow, has once again been honoured . . .’ Some houses on Wellington Road, now part of a cosmopolitan area of West London, dominated by The Golden Age Ends on the Western Front 77 14 Depledge was a Tattersalls bookmaker, local Councillor and well known locally as a charity fundraiser.