Yorkshire’s George Hill relishing England Lions call
GEORGE HILL is determined to make the most of his England Lions call-up, with the Yorkshire all-rounder viewing the opportunity to work alongside some of the game’s leading figures as another important step in his development.
Hill has been named in the Lions squad for their winter programme in South Africa, where he will have the chance to impress on a tour which runs alongside England’s Test commitments.
It is a significant opportunity for the 25-year-old, who has represented the Lions only once before - against India A in Northampton last year.
“Obviously, it's a huge honour, a massive honour,” Hill said.
“I've only played that one game for the Lions the summer before last, which went ok with the ball, but not particularly well with the bat.
"But, yeah, just really looking forward to getting going.”
Hill, who took five wickets in that match, is particularly looking forward to working with Jonathan Trott, the Lions head coach.
The former England batsman previously served as assistant coach with the England men’s team and had a four-year spell as Afghanistan head coach.
“He's obviously played a lot of cricket for England and done coaching gigs around the world, so I'm really looking forward to working with him and sort of picking his brains,” Hill added.
Hill will also be reunited with his former county team-mate Matthew Fisher, who now plays for Surrey.
Fisher left Yorkshire at the end of the 2024 season, returned briefly to the Test team in June and recently signed his first central contract.
“Fish is a brilliant bowler, a brilliant man,” Hill said.
“It will definitely be nice to have a familiar face there.
"Also, tapping into his knowledge, because his bowling has become extremely good.
"Obviously, we knew he was a good bowler at Yorkshire, but I think he's gone to a different level.”
Hill and Fisher were both named in an 18-man red-ball squad and a 15-man white-ball squad for the tour that runs from November 26 until December 21.
It features three 50-over games and two first-class matches against South Africa A.
It is understood that Matty Revis, another Yorkshire all-rounder who toured Australia with the Lions last winter, was not considered as he is currently recovering from injury.
Many considered Hill unfortunate not to make that trip to Australia himself.
However, he felt that his performances with the bat were not quite good enough to warrant selection and is honest about the areas he needs to improve.
“It would obviously have been nice to have gone but I completely get why I didn’t get picked,” Hill said.
“The bowling had gone ok that season but the batting was really disappointing for me.
“If I'm being honest, I didn't really think I quite deserved to go with the batting the way it was that year.”
Hill’s batting this year has certainly progressed.
Despite operating at No 7, he finished as Yorkshire’s leading run-scorer in the Championship with 748 at an average of 34.00.
He was also their leading wicket-taker with 48 at 18.39 and claimed the joint-most catches by an outfielder (15) alongside Dom Bess.
“I’d have liked a few more runs, and batting at seven is something I've not done a huge amount of,” Hill said.
“In a weird way, it helped me at times because when you are marshalling the tail and you've got to play a little bit more positively, you don't really have the opportunity to worry about your technique or anything like that.
"It’s literally trying to take positive options, knowing what your options are and trying to play to your strengths.”
Hill averages 31.20 with the bat in first-class cricket and 21.19 with the ball - figures that underline his value as a genuine all-rounder.
However, he is keen to push that batting average up even higher.
“I definitely don't want to be happy averaging 32 with the bat, whatever it is,” he explained.
“I definitely want to be pushing and averaging mid-to-high 30s.
“If you’ve got myself and ‘Bessy’ batting at seven and eight, if we can average mid-30s, I think that would be a huge boost for the team if we're going to start winning trophies."
That desire to help Yorkshire turn potential into silverware remains key to Hill’s ambitions.
He believes the county have made some positive strides.
“We are making strong strides,” he said.
“‘Mags (head coach Anthony McGrath) keeps on saying that we’re not here just to play, we’re here to compete and to win, and that’s what we’re all determined to do.”
In the meantime, Hill’s focus is on making the most of the Lions opportunity and learning from the players and coaches around him.