Former Durham wicketkeeper and Hill’s ex-coach Martin Speight thinks Hill can go right to the top after his sublime start to the county cricket championship season has continued.
Hill picked up his third 50 of the season and 6 wickets in his side’s loss against Durham in the County Championship Second division earlier on in the week.
The young all rounder has been a shining light in a poor start of the campaign for the white roses, which has seen them yet to win a game, picking up 217 runs, averaging 31 with the bat, higher than some of the world’s best internationals- Jonny Bairstow, Shan Masood and Steve Smith.
The 22-year-old has also proved himself a threat with the ball, taking 10 wickets, averaging 27 with the ball, a better return than England Internationals Dom Bess, Rehan Ahmed and Matt Parkinson.
Hill, alongside fellow Yorkshireman Matthew Revis and England international sensation Harry Brook, is a product of the notorious Sedbergh school, coached by Speight.
Speight outlined what made Hill stand out and why he is finding success for Yorkshire saying, “Firstly he is a very talented cricketer. Secondly, he is very dedicated in terms of he trains very hard, he used to wake up early to train at 6:30 in the morning, in the winter. Thirdly, mentally, he is very calm, you see some players can do it in the nets but not on the pitch”.
Speight believes his schooling at Sedbergh has helped his success in professional cricket saying, “he had all the bits and pieces but at Sedbergh, they get challenged an awful lot and they learn to become resilient but helps with being able to deal with things and gain control.”
Hill has had his taste of England duty, being 12th man and handing the bat that pulled off the impossible to Ben Stokes at that test against Australia at Headingly in 2019 and Speight thinks he will want more “He wants to play for England, I think he can, and I think he will want to improve his T20 game to be able to play in the franchises”.
Hill’s hand eye coordination and batting skills are qualities Speight thinks will take him to the very top “He has exceptional hand eye coordination, he could have been a phenomenal hockey player, if he chose to go down that route and when he was 10 or 11 when I first met him, he was top 5 in the country for his age in Tennis so he has got a natural flair for hitting a ball.”
-Daniel Allerton