Lives in Cricket No 8 - Ernest Hayes

Chapter Eight An Officer and a Gentleman – and a Bridegroom Peace hath her victories No less renowned than war Milton, To the Lord General Cromwell 1919 Discharged from the army, Hayes rejoined a nation at peace, but one which would be burdened with the aftermath of war for some years to come, and looked forward to the resumption of first-class cricket, albeit played as two-day matches that season – a short-lived experiment. Surrey had arranged 25 first-class matches, including twenty in the Championship, plus the Gentlemen v Players fixture. It was, or so he thought at the time, Hayes’ last season in first-class cricket: I was demobilized by the Army in March of this year. This proved to be my last season as a first-class cricketer being injured, two fingers on my right hand had, through past hard knocks, which had severed the tendons, bent well over & I could not catch or field well so retired from the game apart from local cricket. I finished my career playing as an amateur & had the honour of captaining Surrey for the first half of the season. Hayes played in twelve matches for Surrey, captaining the team in four early matches, where he was the only amateur in the side. He was eventually succeeded by C.T.A Wilkinson, who had captained the county to the Championship in 1914 and whose return to cricket had been delayed by his war wounds. 89