Lives in Cricket No 8 - Ernest Hayes

His skill at placing the ball had not left him, however, and the Rev A.Macnamara, reminiscing in The Cricketer in 1950, recalls: One day he was scoring at a rapid rate, placing the ball with amusing unexpectedness. The ball simply did not go where he led the fieldsmen to expect it. By-passed and stupefied they glanced at each other in bewilderment. Then, from an old soldier in the crowd, came the words of a recent war-time song: ‘Where did that one go to, Herbert? Where did that one go?’ Hayes made many friends and had a quiet and pretty sense of humour. Unsurprisingly, he hardly bowled that season. Surrey finished fourth in the Championship, though Hayes’ own contribution of 451 runs at 28.18, was not particularly significant. The last of his 48 first-class centuries (153) came against Hampshire at Southampton. In this match, despite the contracture of his hand, he added 353 runs with Andrew Ducat for the third wicket in 165 minutes, setting a new county record which remained unbeaten until Darren Bicknell and David Ward scored 413 in a four-day match at Canterbury in 1990. In the first session of play on the second day, Hayes added 129 runs to his overnight score and Ducat 167. In the match following, against Sussex at Hove, he became only the third Surrey player, after Hayward and Bobby Abel to score 25,000 runs for the county. Until the First World War, he had continued to play for Honor Oak whenever his county commitments allowed and would now have more opportunities to do so. His elder brother Chris also played and was second eleven captain for a number of years. Although he was to play no more for Surrey, he remained on the list of ‘available amateurs’. He had been a member of the club since 1915 – he had been an employee until 1914 – and remained one until 1923. 1920 and 1921 Compared with other workers who can perhaps expect to work to the age of 60 or 65, professional sportsmen have very short careers – some of them well paid and glamorous ones – which end when they have still thirty or so years of useful working life ahead of them. A number have been so well paid that they need never An Officer and a Gentleman – and a Bridegroom 91