William Hayes

William Hugh James "Chattel" Hayes (26 April 1890 – 30 June 1972) was a New Zealand cricketer. He played in 24 first-class matches for Canterbury from 1909 to 1928.

Life and career Hayes began his cricket career as a batsman and brilliant fieldsman, then took up medium-pace bowling, and then wicket-keeping. He was still keeping wicket in the lower grades in Christchurch into his late sixties. Hayes scored 61 when Canterbury defended the Shield in their next match, defeating Otago by an innings. He and Rupert Hickmott (77 runs) added 131 for the second wicket, but no one else in the match reached 40. He was the highest-scoring batsman in the short New Zealand first-class season, with 265 runs in three matches at an average of 66.25 and the only century. Hayes was unable to reproduce this good form in later seasons; however, for a Canterbury B team against Hawke's Bay in January 1920 he scored 103 in 100 minutes.

Hayes was also a boxer, an athlete who specialised in the mile, and a rugby union five-eighth. He served overseas in the first New Zealand Expeditionary Force in World War I. In 1921, he married Alice Maude Ongley, the older sister of the cricketer Arthur Ongley and the geologist Mont Ongley. She died in September 1956; he died in June 1972.