Ernest George Hayes (6 November 1876 – 2 December 1953) was an English

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officia ...

er who played for Surrey, Leicestershire and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Ernie Hayes was a right-handed batsman, usually batting at No 3 and strong at driving and pulling, a leg-break bowler and a fine

slip fielder In cricket, a slip fielder (collectively, a ''slip cordon'' or ''the slips'') is placed behind the batsman on the off side of the field. They are placed with the aim of catching an edged ball which is beyond the wicket-keeper's reach. Many te ...

. He was a regular in the Surrey side for 15 years up to the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, scoring 1,000 runs and more in every season from 1899 to 1914. His best year was 1906 when he scored 2,309 runs at an average of more than 45 runs an innings, and he was named as a

Wisden Cricketer of the Year The ''Wisden'' Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', based primarily on their "influence on the previous English season". The award began in 1889 with the naming ...

in 1907. His highest score, 276, was made against

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

in 1909 at

The Oval The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since ...

, when he shared a second wicket partnership of 371 with

Jack Hobbs Sir John Berry Hobbs (16 December 1882– 21 December 1963), always known as Jack Hobbs, was an English professional cricketer who played for Surrey from 1905 to 1934 and for England in 61 Test matches between 1908 and 1930. Known as "The Mast ...

that remains a Surrey record. Hayes' bowling was intermittently useful: in 1905, he took 76 wickets, and in 1912 there were 60, but in other seasons he took very few and was expensive. As a slip fielder, he took more than 600 catches in all matches. Hayes'

Test match Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (association football) ...

career was not a success. He went to South African under

Pelham Warner Sir Pelham Francis Warner, (2 October 1873 – 30 January 1963), affectionately and better known as Plum Warner or "the Grand Old Man" of English cricket, was a Test cricketer and cricket administrator. He was knighted for services to sport in ...

in 1905–06 and played in three of the Tests in the first series ever won against England by the

South African cricket team The South Africa national cricket team, also known as the Proteas, represents South Africa in men's international cricket and is administered by Cricket South Africa (CSA). South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council (I ...

. He scored just 69 runs, with a top score of 35. He also went on the 1907–08 tour to Australia, but his form was so poor that he was not picked for any of the Tests. In 1909, he played once in a home Test against the

Australians Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizens, nationals and individuals associated with the country of Australia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or ethno-cultural. For most Australians, several (or all) ...

, but though the match was won, he scored only 13 runs in his two innings. Finally, he was recalled for one match against South Africa in the

1912 Triangular Tournament The 1912 Triangular Tournament was a Test cricket competition played between Australia, England and South Africa, the only Test-playing nations at the time. The ultimate winners of the tournament were England, with four wins in their six matche ...

, and scored just four runs. After distinguished war service that won him the MBE, Hayes returned to Surrey as an amateur in 1919, but retired after just one season. He was afflicted with a contracture of the fingers of the right hand that made holding a bat difficult: this was attributed to years of fielding at slip to the stinging pace of Tom Richardson and William Lockwood. He moved to Leicestershire as coach and Second Eleven captain, and was so successful that, in 1926, at the age of 49, he was picked for five first-team matches, scoring 99 against

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The trad ...

in his first game and heading the county's averages. In all cricket, he scored 27,318 runs with 48 centuries, and took 515 wickets. He was later coach at Surrey. In 1933 he retired to run a pub, the Paxton Arms in

West Norwood West Norwood is a largely residential area of south London within the London Borough of Lambeth, located 5.4 miles (8.7 km) south south-east of Charing Cross. The centre of West Norwood sits in a bowl surrounded by hillsides on its east, ...

, being its landlord for 20 years. Keith Booth, ''Ernest Hayes – Brass in a Golden Age'', ACS Publications, 2009, .

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hayes, Ernie 1876 births 1953 deaths England Test cricketers Surrey cricketers Leicestershire cricketers London County cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers North v South cricketers Players cricketers English cricket coaches Wisden Cricketers of the Year Members of the Order of the British Empire People from Peckham S. H. Cochrane's XI cricketers Players of the South cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club Australian Touring Team cricketers