George Hirst's 1906 — 2,385 Runs, 208 Wickets in One Season

Hirst had been a Yorkshire regular since 1891. By 1906 his bowling action was being studied and his 'swerve' written about in coaching manuals. His batting was equally robust: a flat-bat hitter and a powerful driver who could be relied on to score quickly down the order.

The 1906 season was an unusually good summer for batsmen — 1,000-run seasons were achieved by 11 players — but only one batsman doubled it with 200 wickets. Hirst's stamina was as remarkable as his skill: he bowled over 1,400 overs in the season.

Yorkshire had won the championship four times in the previous five years. The 1906 side, captained by Lord Hawke, included Hirst, Rhodes, Schofield Haigh, David Denton and Tom Hayward as opponents at Surrey. The platform was set for an exceptional all-round campaign.

George Herbert Hirst, born in Kirkheaton in 1871, had been Yorkshire's first-choice all-rounder since the mid-1890s. By 1906, aged 35, he was a fast-medium left-arm bowler famous for the 'swerve' (a kind of in-swinger) and a hard-hitting middle-order batsman. The 1906 county season was an English summer of unusually fine weather, but no one expected what followed.

In 35 first-class matches Hirst scored 2,385 runs at 45.86, including six centuries, and took 208 wickets at 16.50. Both numbers were extraordinary on their own; together, they are unique. He passed the 1,000-run / 100-wicket double by the end of June, two weeks faster than anyone else in the history of first-class cricket. By the end of August he had passed 2,000 runs and 200 wickets — the first man to do so in a single season, and (over a century later) still the only one.

Yorkshire won the County Championship by a wide margin. Hirst's individual highlights included 169 not out and 6 for 28 in the same match against Somerset at Bath, in which he became the first man to score a hundred and take both six- and seven-fors in the same first-class fixture. He was named one of Wisden's Cricketers of the Year for the 1906 almanack (in respect of the 1905 season) but the 1906 performance dwarfed even that recognition.

“A feat unique in the history of the game.”

“I don't know — but whoever does it will be very tired.”

Hirst's 1906 summer made him a household name. A testimonial was raised the following year that, for a Yorkshire professional, set new records. He continued to play for Yorkshire until 1921 and went on to coach at Eton from 1920 to 1937.

The 'double-double' record was challenged briefly by Wilfred Rhodes (his Kirkheaton neighbour) in 1911 with 2,261 runs and 117 wickets, but Rhodes' wicket tally fell short. It has not been seriously approached in the century since.