| Frank Hayes of Lancashire was the great hope of English batting in the
mid-1970s: the first one of his generation to blossom after a period
when English batting seemed on the decline. He was the first young
enough to wear the long hair which was fashionable at the time. Hayes
was a pleasant stroke-maker, particularly strong on the lofted drive
down the ground, but he had little chance to show that because every one
of his Test matches was played against the West Indies. He made his
debut at the Oval in 1973, scoring 16 in the first innings but taking
command with 106 not out in the second, made in exactly four hours and
with a dozen boundaries. He excited the crowd by the way he hooked the
fast bowlers, but his innings was played in a losing cause. He made 29
and 0 at Edgbaston and 8 and 0 at Lord's, but he had done enough to get
himself a berth in Mike Denness' team to the West Indies early the next
year. In the Caribbean he played in four Tests but with a top score of
just 25. He was not considered again until England were in trouble
against an even stronger West Indies team in 1976. He returned at Old
Trafford, making 0 and 18, then 7 and 0 in the next Test and that was
the end of his international career. Hayes played in the first World Cup
in 1975, scoring 34 at Trent Bridge against New Zealand before he was
out lbw to Richard Hadlee. He scored 52 against East Africa at Edgbaston
and was lbw to Garry Gilmour for 4 in the semi-final. He captained
Lancashire from 1978 to 1980 and followed in the footsteps of Gary
Sobers by torturing Malcolm Nash at Swansea, hitting 34 off an over in a
county match in 1973. (Bob Harragan). |