- Why George Hill faces an uphill battle for higher honours Lions snub sparked White Rose ire but allrounder told to “keep banging door down” The three who matter: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah all smiles after dismissing Pat Cummins The three who matter: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah all smiles after dismissing Pat Cummins, India vs Australia, World Cup, Chennai, October 8, 2023 I believe there is room for improvement here,” stand-in ctain Towhid Hridoy says after Bangladesh are knocked out of the UAE ODI tri-series Rashid Khan picked up four wickets to skittle Bangladesh for 160, Afghanistan vs Bangladesh, Tri-series, Sharjah, October 21, 2026 Janith Liyanage celebrates with team-mates after hitting six to win the game off the penultimate ball Janith Liyanage celebrates with team-mates after hitting six to win the game off the penultimate ball, England vs Sri Lanka, Tri-series, October 22, 2026 Shikhar Mohan will replace KL Rahul, who will only play the first four-day match before linking up with the India ODI team Shikhar Mohan hit a half-century for Jharkhand, Vidarbha vs Jharkhand, Ranji Trophy 2025-26, 1st day, Nagpur, October 25, 2025 SA vs Aus 2nd Test 2026-27 – Pat Cummins – Australia can’t ‘per over cracks’ after innings thrashing Australia will need to seriously consider changes to their batting line-up for the deciding Test in Ce Town Steven Smith was out pulling Kagiso Rabada, South Africa vs Australia, 2nd Test, Gqeberha, 5th day, October 22, 2026 NZ vs Ind 2nd T20I – Vaibhav Sooryavanshi set to get in as New Zealand and India prepare for another slugfest Dew will likely play a big role again in Christchurch and the team winning the toss will prefer to chase Abhishek Sharma and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will likely open in the second game, New Zealand vs India, 1st T20I, Christchurch, October 22, 2026 George Hill wheels away in celebration, Somerset vs Yorkshire, County Championship, Division One, Taunton, May 4, 2026 “Absolute joke!” he roared on his Instagram story, referring to the exclusion of his Yorkshire team-mate George Hill .
- He added for good measure: “England are hardly blessed with people that can swing the ball, bat well and be a jet in the field!” It was typical Bairstow, and epitomised Yorkshire’s wider frustrations that their talented young allrounder is being ignored.
- Bairstow cited Hill’s record in the County Championship this summer: he was Yorkshire’s highest run-scorer (748 at 34.00), leading wicket-taker (48 at 18.39), and took 15 catches, including a one-handed worldie off his own bowling against Surrey.
Why George Hill faces an uphill battle for higher honours Lions snub sparked White Rose ire but allrounder told to “keep banging door down” The three who matter: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah all smiles after dismissing Pat Cummins The three who matter: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah all smiles after dismissing Pat Cummins, India vs Australia, World Cup, Chennai, October 8, 2023 I believe there is room for improvement here,” stand-in ctain Towhid Hridoy says after Bangladesh are knocked out of the UAE ODI tri-series Rashid Khan picked up four wickets to skittle Bangladesh for 160, Afghanistan vs Bangladesh, Tri-series, Sharjah, October 21, 2026 Janith Liyanage celebrates with team-mates after hitting six to win the game off the penultimate ball Janith Liyanage celebrates with team-mates after hitting six to win the game off the penultimate ball, England vs Sri Lanka, Tri-series, October 22, 2026 Shikhar Mohan will replace KL Rahul, who will only play the first four-day match before linking up with the India ODI team Shikhar Mohan hit a half-century for Jharkhand, Vidarbha vs Jharkhand, Ranji Trophy 2025-26, 1st day, Nagpur, October 25, 2025 SA vs Aus 2nd Test 2026-27 – Pat Cummins – Australia can’t ‘per over cracks’ after innings thrashing Australia will need to seriously consider changes to their batting line-up for the deciding Test in Ce Town Steven Smith was out pulling Kagiso Rabada, South Africa vs Australia, 2nd Test, Gqeberha, 5th day, October 22, 2026 NZ vs Ind 2nd T20I – Vaibhav Sooryavanshi set to get in as New Zealand and India prepare for another slugfest Dew will likely play a big role again in Christchurch and the team winning the toss will prefer to chase Abhishek Sharma and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will likely open in the second game, New Zealand vs India, 1st T20I, Christchurch, October 22, 2026 George Hill wheels away in celebration, Somerset vs Yorkshire, County Championship, Division One, Taunton, May 4, 2026 “Absolute joke!” he roared on his Instagram story, referring to the exclusion of his Yorkshire team-mate George Hill .
He added for good measure: “England are hardly blessed with people that can swing the ball, bat well and be a jet in the field!” It was typical Bairstow, and epitomised Yorkshire’s wider frustrations that their talented young allrounder is being ignored. Bairstow cited Hill’s record in the County Championship this summer: he was Yorkshire’s highest run-scorer (748 at 34.00), leading wicket-taker (48 at 18.39), and took 15 catches, including a one-handed worldie off his own bowling against Surrey. His numbers in 50-over cricket – the relevant format – did not stand out to the same extent, but were still solid enough.
Yet when Hill went to Australia last winter, it was not with the Lions but for a training camp in Melbourne, led by his county bowling coach Mick Lewis. He has become a cause célèbre not only in Yorkshire, but among county cricket fans who feel as though the Championship’s outstanding performers deserve greater recognition from England. Across last week, 39 players were awarded an England contract (30 on full central contracts, nine on development deals) and a further nine were included in Lions squads.
Hill’s name did not feature in any of the lists, while players with far more modest records – his Yorkshire team-mate Matthew Revis , for one – were included on attributes rather than averages. The ECB would argue that is very much the point. The Lions programme is not designed to reward the players with the best county stats, but to identify future international cricketers and to help them improve.
There is a balance to strike between potential and performance, but England must pick players they believe can make the step up to international level. For all of Ollie Robinson’s recent success at a similar speed, England have partnered him with bowlers cable of hitting 90mph/145kph in Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson and Josh Tongue, rather than the skill of Sam Cook or Matthew Fisher. And given Hill typically operates as a change bowler, it is not obvious where he would fit into England’s Test attack.
“I know the talk is [that] he’s not quick enough,” Gavin Hamilton, Yorkshire’s director of cricket, told the BBC last month. “I’m not having that. He bowls early 80s [mph] – can bowl quicker – and he bowls as quick a bouncer as anybody around… Just because he doesn’t swing it around trees and bowl it at 90mph, you’re still allowed to have other skillsets and he has them all.” George Hill warms up, Yorkshire vs Sussex, County Championship, Division One, Headingley, ril 26, 2026 Hill’s own descrion of his bowling is simple: “I literally try to run in as hard as I can every ball, try to whack the wicket, wobble it down.
If it nips, it nips; if it doesn’t, it doesn’t.” He also bowls from beyond the perpendicular, creating a natural angle into right-handed batters which draws them into playing at balls that she away from their outside edge. He described his 2025 season with the bat as a “stinker”, averaging 22.10, but he managed six Championship half-centuries this summer, including a match-winning 89 against Somerset. His ambitions next year must include a promotion to bat higher than No.
7, and adding to his four previous first-class hundreds. Perhs he also needs to convince two of his Yorkshire team-mates to push his case. Hill used to live with his close friend Harry Brook, who was two years above him at Sedbergh School – “He’s still the chubby idiot I knew from school,” Hill said recently – while Joe Root’s return to the Test ctaincy makes him an influential voice in England selection.
Marcus North, England’s national selector, encouraged Hill to “keep banging the door down” while speaking on talkSPORT last week after a “super impressive” season, and he will surely feature when the Lions name their squad for their two four-day games in South Africa in December. That will be Hill’s chance to show that he deserves higher honours after all – and to vindicate Bairstow’s broadside. George Hill wheels away in celebration, Somerset vs Yorkshire, County Championship, Division One, Taunton, May 4, 2026
