Four players, three generations, two counties, one famous family.

The mourners who attended the funeral of Daniel Hayward in 1852 lamented the loss of a fine cricketer, but little did they realise that his family would continue to star in English cricket for another 60 years. One son was a stalwart of Cambridgeshire cricket; the other would help pioneer and popularise cricket as a famous member of the All-England Eleven. A grandson would eclipse them all, becoming one of the greatest batsmen of all time and the second to score a century of centuries.

Together the Haywards featured in nearly 900 first-class or equivalent matches, scored nearly 50,000 runs and took over 750 wickets. They witnessed the growth of cricket from its early days as a pastime for gentlemen to an international sport with huge crowds. They took part in the first overseas cricket tour, spurred the rise of county cricket and battled for the Ashes.

Using extensive archival research, Keith and Jennifer Booth shine the spotlight on four fascinating characters, elevating the Hayward name to rank alongside Grace and Lillywhite as one of cricket’s foremost families.

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