Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. George Hill celebrates one of his four wickets on the final day of last season, against Durham at Headingley.
George Hill is confident Yorkshire can maintain the momentum they created during an impressive second half of last season as they bid to start the new summer with a bang.
The White Rose played their best cricket from mid-summer onwards, winning three of their final seven matches in the Rothesay County Championship and reaching the semi-finals of the Metro Bank One-Day Cup.
All-rounder Hill, 25-years-old, was right at the heart of that run, with the final game of the season against Durham at Headingley particularly special given how the county won that game.
Yorkshire relegated Durham by bowling them out for 88 inside 45 overs, with Hill to the fore, taking 4-14 from 10.5 overs and crashing through the 50-wicket for the summer barrier. He finished with 51 in Division One, a career best return.
“That was ridiculous to be a part of,” said Hill, of the Durham game.
“I just couldn’t believe how quickly it all unfolded. What was it, nine wickets in an hour-and-a-half?
“We definitely gained a huge amount of confidence from that game and the way we played more generally through the second half of the year.
“It wasn’t just the cricket we played, it was the brand of cricket we played and also the collectiveness we had as a team.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. George Hill scored four Championship fifties last summer, added to 51 wickets.
“We’re all in a good place as a squad.
“Lads like Rev and Wharts have been away with the Lions this winter, and we’re all at the stage where we’re not young players any more.
“Myself and Wharts are 25, Rev’s 24.
“We’re not at the point of just wanting to play for Yorkshire anymore, which is kind of what you want to do as a young lad coming through. It’s definitely a case of, ‘We think we can win games of cricket against anyone in any conditions’.
“The confidence we got from the back end of last season has definitely created that. We know we have the ability to do it.
“Mags has been really clear that we want to win as many trophies as possible. That’s our aim.
“The signings that him and Gavin have made, they’ve done a bloody good job. It’s going to be exciting to play with all those guys and chew their ears off.”
Hill’s form with the ball last year helped him gain summer recognition with the England Lions and also earned him the tag of Yorkshire’s players’ player-of-the-year.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Matthew Revis won the members’ player-of-the-year in 2025, with George Hill claiming the players’ award.
In all last summer, he claimed 56 first-class wickets.
“The bowling was obviously good,” he continued. “I was a bit disappointed with the bat. But hopefully this year I can marry things up and have a good year.
“There’s definitely been a lot of conversations around that this winter.
“I’ve also worked really hard on my fitness. Bowling, batting and then obviously being at first slip, it’s quite physically tiring but also mainly mentally tiring.
“That’s probably the thing I’ve found toughest, just feeling mentally tired having bowled maybe 20 overs because I’m not really used to doing it.
“The odd time we might lose a couple of the wickets whilst I was strapping the pads on, and you don’t get much time to switch off.
“It’s just figuring out ways to switch off and not overthink things.”
Hill described the recent five-week Yorkshire training camp in Melbourne as “unbelievable”.
Picture by Paul Kane/Getty Images. Sam Whiteman is one of Yorkshire’s new winter recruits.
That was followed by a pre-season tour to Desert Springs in Almeria.
“That was really cool as well,” he said. “Obviously Abu Dhabi’s got brilliant facilities, but it’s in the desert and the wickets are a bit different to the ones we will face in early April.
“It nipped in Spain, which was good.
“We had a really good training session before our two-day game against Somerset, where all the bowlers ran in with brand new Dukes balls. And it was nipping a lot.
“That was probably one of the better nets I’ve ever had on a pre-season tour in terms of toughness. That will stand us in really good stead, I think.”
Hill’s winter started with a short and sharp trip to Hong Kong to represent an England side at the Sixes event, a six-a-side, six overs per side event.
“I know it’s not real England, but still to represent your country was a very cool experience,” he said. “We reached the semi-finals.
“I learnt a lot. The cricket’s obviously very different. You had to get on with it with the bat, which helps with T20 development. Then you’re only bowling with five fielders.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. George Hill is targeting more T20 appearances for Yorkshire this summer.
“The crowd was quite healthy and loud, and they were on top of you. I thought it was a really good standard of cricket.”
Hill’s game in both Championship and one-day cricket has progressed impressively over the last couple of years, but he is yet to nail down a place in T20 cricket. It will be of no surprise to learn that it’s a big aim of his for 2026.
“I’ve worked hard this winter on various different skills for that,” he said.
“We’ve got a really good T20 squad this year, and if I get an opportunity it’s about taking it with both hands.
“The whole thing about this summer is enjoying my cricket because that’s when I’m at my best.”
Hill and Yorkshire have happy memories of Cardiff, where the season begins on Good Friday with a Championship match against Glamorgan.
He took three wickets in a nail-biting Metro Bank One-Day Cup win there in 2021 and then hit 90 in the 2024 Championship success.
“We’re definitely confident we can start the season with a win,” he added. “We’re really looking forward to it.
“The last couple of times we’ve been down there, it’s been towards the back end of the season when the wickets have been quite tired. So I’m not quite sure what to expect on that front.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. George Hill has praised Anthony McGrath and Yorkshire’s management following their winter recruitment drive.
“But, if they try and make it green, we’ve got everybody to cover that. If it spins, we’ve got players to cover that. If it’s flat, we’ve got players to cover that.
“Whatever they throw at us, I feel pretty comfortable that we can combat it.”
