Basil Hayles

Basil Ratcliffe Marshall Hayles (29 October 1916 – 4 November 2007) was an English first-class cricketer and British Army officer.

Hayles was born at Andover, Hampshire.[1] He was educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College,[1] before attending the Royal Military Academy.[2] He graduated from the academy in August 1936 and was posted to the Royal Corps of Signals as a second lieutenant,[2] with promotion to lieutenant coming in August 1939.[3] In the year prior to his promotion to lieutenant, Hayles played two first-class cricket matches as a wicket-keeper for the British Army cricket team against Cambridge University at Fenner's, and Oxford University at Camberley.[4] He played a further first-class match for the Army in 1939 against Cambridge University.[4]

He served during the Second World War, during which he was promoted to the rank of captain in August 1944.[5] Following the war, Hayles played first-class cricket for the Combined Services cricket team, making two appearances in 1947 against the touring South Africans at Portsmouth, and Oxford University at Oxford.[4] He also played minor counties cricket for Norfolk in the same year.[6] He followed these up with two further first-class appearances in 1949 against Hampshire at Aldershot, and Kent at Gillingham.[4] Across seven first-class appearances, Hayles scored 69 runs with a high score of 40.[1] He was promoted to the rank of major following the war in August 1949.[7] He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel in January 1957.[8] He was made a colonel in February 1964, with seniority to June 1963.[9]

Hayles retired from military service in October 1971.[10] He died 36 years later in November 2007 at Aldeburgh, Suffolk.