Johnny Hayes or Haybag as he was known to his team-mates was a tall right-arm fast bowler. Having only played two first class matches, Hayes was fast-tracked to the New Zealand Test squad. He toured England in 1948-49 under the leadership of Walter Hadlee. Though he suffered a groin strain and missed the second part of the tour, Hayes was allowed to stay with the squad and gain experience.

Hayes' finest moment came when he removed Gerry Gomez, Sir Clyde Walcott and Sir Frank Worrell in a space of 8 balls. It was a fiery spell and some even termed it as the best Hayes has bowled. He also toured India and Pakistan in 1955-56 and used the new ball to good effect. In the first class matches he played on tour, Hayes snaffled 35 wickets at 32.11. However, he was ineffective when it came to Tests, picking only 13 in six outings. Hayes toured England for a second time and this time he took 62 first class wickets, including 11 sticks against MCC at Lord's. But, once again failed to repeat the performance in Tests. He collected 6 wickets in four Tests with 4/36 at Lord's. The media described that it was the worst New Zealand side to have toured overseas.

Hayes worked for an import-export company and it was tedious job, he missed the tour to South Africa in 1953-54 due to his job. After retiring from cricket in 1961, Hayes continued to work in import-export and was Morocco's consul general in New Zealand until his retirement in 2004. Hayes passed away on 25th December, 2007 aged 80.


By Akshay Maanay