George Hirst - Style and Technique

Style and Technique

Hirst received little coaching as a batsman. Physically brave, he was often at his best on pitches which were difficult for batting, and when his team faced a crisis. His usual approach was to bat aggressively. Although he could play defensively if required, he preferred to attack when his team were in difficulties. He played a variety of strokes, but he favoured the on drive and particularly the pull and hook shots. He was able to pull and hook almost any ball delivered to him, making it difficult to place fielders effectively while he was batting. Only in Australia did this approach prove less successful. He also established a reputation as an outstanding fielder at mid off. In this position, he took many catches, often from hard drives in an era when batsmen played this shot very well.

Although Hirst was a right-handed batsman, he bowled with his left arm at medium-fast pace. He was one of the first bowlers to make the ball swerve through the air in a controlled fashion. According to A. A. Thompson, Hirst's development of swing bowling was almost as revolutionary as Bernard Bosanquet's invention of the googly. His bowling partnership with Rhodes was particularly effective, and established a formidable reputation. Hirst could not make the ball swing in every match, nor could he maintain it through a long innings. However, when he could achieve swerve, even the best batsmen found it almost impossible to bat against him. His success was dependent on atmospheric conditions; for example, he could not swing the ball much in Australia. He was particularly effective when bowling into the wind. Sammy Woods described facing Hirst when the ball was moving in the air: "How the devil can you play a ball that comes in at you like a hard throw-in from cover-point?" Hirst was not an especially quick bowler, a little faster than medium pace, with a long run-up and a relaxed action. He usually bowled over the wicket, meaning he bowled from the right hand side of the wickets and therefore angled the ball across the pitch. After delivery, the ball swung through the air at the last minute and hurried through after pitching, appearing to get faster. A very accurate bowler, he was difficult to score against unless a batsman was prepared to hit him in the air over mid on. The main dangers to the batsmen were the risk of being bowled or hitting the ball with a defensive shot and being caught by specially-placed fielders on the leg side. His ability to make the ball swing made him effective on a variety of pitches. Before Hirst developed his technique, bowlers often rubbed the ball in the dirt to remove the shiny layer of the ball, unaware that this layer helped the ball to swing. Hirst's Wisden obituary records: "Hirst, in fact, has been described as the father of all modern seam and swing bowling."

Hirst completed the double 14 times, more than any other cricketer except Rhodes. Unusually for an all-rounder, for much of his career he was equally successful as a batsman and as a bowler. Consequently, he was a key member of the Yorkshire team. His Yorkshire captain Lord Hawke described Hirst as "the greatest county cricketer of all time", and journalist Jim Kilburn noted that no cricketer could "capture the heart and the imagination and the affections more firmly than George Herbert Hirst." E. W. Swanton described his typical style of play as "grafting for victory without heroics". His record as a Test cricketer was less impressive than his figures in county cricket, owing to some extent to playing conditions during his two tours of Australia which reduced the effectiveness of his bowling and batting.

Hirst gave the impression of enjoying every game he played, and many of the captains under whom he played praised both his personality and his contribution to the team. Lord Hawke said that Hirst's smile "went right round his head and met at the back." Warner noted his wit helped the team in difficult situations during the tour of Australia in 1903–04. Hirst's Times obituary said: "No why or wherefore, no explanation of his great ability, not even his record which adorns the pages of Wisden can adequately describe to those who had not the fortune to see him play the rich quality of George Hirst, the type of professional cricketer to which all would like to aspire. He played during the golden age of cricket, and he was one of the most illustrious of his time." Hirst was noted for his honesty, sportsmanship, and enthusiasm. Known as "George Herbert", he was admired and affectionately regarded by his contemporaries and by spectators. The public worshipped him in a way never replicated for his contemporary and fellow Kirkheaton-born all-rounder Wilfred Rhodes, a much more dour character. The two men were never good friends; there may have been a degree of jealousy between them, and Rhodes did not appreciate Hirst's jovial attitude. Rhodes was more tactically astute than Hirst, but Hirst's enthusiasm and personality were more inspirational to the team. Rhodes, when asked about Hirst's ability to swing the ball, replied: "He was very good. But he didn't know how to use it, you know. I had to set the field for him so that he got the best out of it."

A plain-speaking man, Hirst could be firm and even outspoken at times. Wisden said: "Cricket was George Hirst's life". Bowes wrote that Hirst "was loved as a player, he was worshipped as a coach, revered as a man. His friends numbered thousands. He gave his full life to cricket; cricket gave a full life to him." Bowes also commented: "I never hope to meet a better coach or a better man."