Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. George Hill has topped 600 runs and 40 wickets in this season’s Rothesay County Championship.
The calls for George Hill to receive some kind of England recognition have reached fever pitch. Everywhere you look or listen, there is high praise for Yorkshire’s talismanic all-rounder.
Ben Coad sung his praises after Surrey, Anthony McGrath as well. Gavin Hamilton went on BBC Radio last week, pushed his cause and revealed that new England Test coach Stephen Fleming had been watching him against Somerset.
Social media is giving the 25-year-old a similar leg-up.
@Matt_Walker96, for example, said on X: “At what point do we just accept that the 3rd best player in English cricket, after Brook and Root, is George Hill?”
Perhaps, though, the most striking praise has come from Yorkshire’s bowling coach Mick Lewis, a man who has played white-ball cricket for Australia.
“He’s a serious athlete,” said Lewis, ahead of Yorkshire’s final game of 2026, a Rothesay County Championship clash with defending Nottinghamshire champions Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge, starting tomorrow.
“He’s over 600 runs (686), 40-odd wickets (45) and has taken 15 catches.
“I know they talk about pace, but you need a skill element as well, and he’s one of the most skilled players I’ve ever worked with.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. High praise for George Hill from Yorkshire’s bowling coach Mick Lewis.
“He’s right up there with Scotty Boland, James Pattinson, Sam Cook, Jamie Porter and Shane Snater. I mean, they’re all pretty good, but he’s right up there as well. He’s just as good as them.”
Lewis continued: “I think George has kicked on this year because he’s starting to believe he’s good enough. Last year, he took 51 wickets from memory, and he was like, ‘I can’t believe it’. But he’s a serious cricketer.
“Some of the spells he’s bowled for us this year have been unbelievable.
“He should be in the mix for England, I believe. As an all-round package, you’ve got to be looking at him.”
Hill’s response to such questions about higher honours – whether it’s Lions or a full Test call-up for South Africa prior to Christmas – are understandably lowkey.
He played once for the Lions last summer and, ahead of Trent Bridge, said: “It’s lovely to hear (praise and calls for his England inclusion), and it gives you a bit of a lift. But I’m very much concentrating on winning games for Yorkshire, going to Notts’ and ruining their party as well.”
Hill has just alluded to Yorkshire’s role of spoilers, which they played perfectly against Somerset at Headingley last week to win by 185 runs. Funnily enough, whilst he was exceptional for 89 in the second innings, it was one of his quieter games with the ball, only striking once in the second innings.
It was a victory which has given Somerset a mountain to climb if they are going to win the title, while Notts’ are even further away from the summit despite still being in the hunt.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Like George Hill, fellow all-rounder Matthew Revis has England Lions recognition to his name. Hill has only played once for the Lions, however, last summer. Revis toured Australia last winter.
Warwickshire are top on 203 points from 13 games and host second-bottom Leicestershire at Edgbaston.
Somerset are second on 192 and host Surrey at Taunton, while Notts’ are third on 188. Safe to say, coach Peter Moores, captain Haseeb Hameed and company need a miracle to hold onto to the title they won last September.
Their chances were dented significantly by a defeat against Sussex at Hove last week.
Yorkshire can still finish fourth in Division One. They are sat fifth, 13 points behind Sussex, who wrap up their campaign away at relegated Hampshire.
Yorkshire will be without Indian wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav, who has returned home for international commitments. Notts’, meanwhile, will field overseas duo Mitch Hay, a wicketkeeper-batter from New Zealand, and Indian seamer Mukesh Kumar.
And just going back to Hill, McGrath was asked again about him in the aftermath of the Somerset game.
He said: “I think he’s turning into our most important player.
“He’s been frustrated with the bat. I think he looks at himself as a batter who bowls, but his bowling is just incredible.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Eleven wickets in the match for Ben Cliff against Somerset last week, including eight in the first innings.
“His batting now, he’s getting there. The innings he’s played in the back end of the season have been really impressive. Belief’s a big thing with George, and if he can get his batting up to somewhere near his bowling then he’s got to be near.
“He’s a great fielder, he plays every game, he’s robust.
“If you take the physical attributes out of it, mentally he’s in the game every single ball, bat, bowl or in the slips. To do that with the level of performance he’s putting in takes an unbelievable amount of energy, skill and character. And he does it consistently.
“Players like that don’t come around often.
“The question over him is his pace. But it’s like anything in life, it’s balance.
“If you’ve got three 90mph bowlers and the someone who’s highly skilled and can bat and field, then they will get in any team.
“I think we’re seeing a change. Even this year, if England had a keeper up to the stumps 12 months ago it would have been scorned, ‘It’s poor cricket’.
“Now, you’re seeing around the world keepers stood up and skilful bowlers coming back in. George is certainly one of them.
Picture by David Rogers/Getty Images. New Zealander Mitchell Hay is ending the summer as a Nottinghamshire overseas player.
“So, yeah, he’s an incredible cricketer in my opinion.
“I think he’s quick enough and people underestimate the nip he gets off the pitch.
“His best selling point is speak to the batters who he’s played against. The Surrey boys, the Essex lads, they were all so impressed, ‘He’s quick enough, he nips it both ways’.
“That from peers.
“I’m not saying he should be in the England team now, but he’s surely got to get some recognition at a higher level.
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE v YORKSHIRE, FIRST-CLASS CRICKET – 1863-2025 – STAT PACK
Results (home and away) County Championship: Played 209; Yorkshire won 77, Nottinghamshire won 28, Drawn 104. (Abandoned 5).
In addition, the counties have played 55 non-Championship matches, 18 won by Yorkshire, 22 by Nottinghamshire and 15 drawn.
At Trent Bridge (all first-class): Played 121; Yorkshire won 36, Nottinghamshire won 23, Drawn 62.
Most recent results: 2025 match drawn at Trent Bridge, Nottinghamshire won by 163 runs at Headingley; Yorkshire’s most recent victory – 2019 at Scarborough by 143 runs.
Most successive wins: Yorkshire 5 (1950-52 and 1960-62); Nottinghamshire 3 (1864-65, 1883-84 and 1993-95).
Two wins in a season: Yorkshire 16 times, Nottinghamshire 4 (most recent 1891).
Highest innings totals: For Yorkshire, 572-8dec at Scarborough in 2013. For Nottinghamshire, 545-7dec at Headingley in 2010.
Lowest innings totals: For Yorkshire, 32 at Sheffield (Bramall Lane) in 1876. For Nottinghamshire, 13 at Trent Bridge in 1901.
Highest individual score: For Yorkshire, 285 by P Holmes at Trent Bridge in 1929. For Nottinghamshire, 251* by DJ Hussey at Headingley in 2010.
Highest partnerships: For Yorkshire, 297 for the fifth wicket between AW Gale (272) and GS Balance (141) at Scarborough in 2013. For Nottinghamshire, 270 for the third wicket between DW Randall (166) and CEB Rice (121*) at Harrogate in 1980.
Best bowling figures (innings): For Yorkshire, 10-10 by H Verity at Headingley in 1932. For Nottinghamshire, 8-32 by JC Shaw at Trent Bridge in 1865.
Best bowling figures (match): For Yorkshire, 14-33 (8-12 and 6-21) by R Peel at Sheffield (Bramall Lane) in 1888. For Nottinghamshire, 14-94 (8-38 and 6-56) by F Morley at Trent Bridge in 1878.
Hat-tricks: For Yorkshire, 7 – by FS Trueman (3) at Trent Bridge in 1951, at Scarborough in 1955 and at Bradford in 1963, D Wilson (2) at Middlesborough in 1959 and at Worksop in 1966, H Verity at Headingley in 1932 and AL Robinson at Worksop in 1974. No instance for Nottinghamshire.
Most dismissals in an innings by a wicketkeeper: For Yorkshire, 6 (all caught) by HG Duke at Trent Bridge in 2021. For Nottinghamshire, 6 (all caught) by CMW Read at Trent Bridge in 2013 and K Verreynne at Headingley in 2025.
Most dismissals in a match by a wicketkeeper: For Yorkshire, 6 (all caught) by HG Duke at Trent Bridge in 2021. For Nottinghamshire, 9 (all caught) by K Verreynne at Headingley in 2025.
Most catches in an innings by a fielder: For Nottinghamshire, 5 by DW Randall at Trent Bridge in 1987. No Yorkshire player has taken more than 4 in an innings.
Most catches in a match by a fielder: For Yorkshire, 6 by J Tunnicliffe at Sheffield (Bramall Lane) in 1895, P Holmes at Huddersfield in 1921 and JV Wilson at Trent Bridge in 1961. For Nottinghamshire, 7 by SJ Mullaney at Trent Bridge in 2020.
100 runs and 10 wickets in a match: For Nottinghamshire, FD Stephenson 111 and 117, and 11-222 (4-105 and 7-117) at Trent Bridge in 1988.
A century and five wickets in a match: For Yorkshire, W Bates 102 and 2-58 and 5-17 at Sheffield (Bramall Lane) in 1878, FS Jackson 43 and 145 and 0-10 and 5-37 at Headingley in 1894, JT Newstead 29 and 100* and 7-68 and 0-3 at Trent Bridge in 1908 and W Rhodes 176 and 5-68 and 0-7 at Harrogate in 1912.
At Trent Bridge…
Highest innings totals: Yorkshire 534-9dec in 2011, Nottinghamshire 490 in 1897.
Lowest innings totals: Yorkshire 43 in 1869, Nottinghamshire 13 in 1901.
Highest individual score: For Yorkshire, 285 by P Holmes in 1929. For Nottinghamshire, 236 by AD Hales in 2015.
Best bowling figures (innings): For Yorkshire, 8-38 by W Rhodes in 1899. For Nottinghamshire, 8-32 by JC Shaw in 1865.
Best bowling figures (match): For Yorkshire, 13-176 (7-89 and 6-87) by WE Bowes in 1933. For Nottinghamshire, 14-94 (8-38 and 6-56) by F Morley in 1878.
Compiled by Paul Dyson, Peter Horne and Martyn Webster – members of the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians.
A thank you to Paul, Peter and Martyn for all their hard work throughout the summer.
