Hearne was described as a "neat" batsman who played cut shots and hook shots effectively. He played most productively on the back foot, often cutting the ball deliberately over the slips. He put on 321 in an unbeaten partnership with Jack Mason against Nottinghamshire in 1899 for the third wicket, a Kent record which stood until 2005. As of October 2017, this remains the sixth highest partnership in Kent's history for any wicket. By the end of his Kent career Hearne was established as the leading run scorer and wicket taker in club history. He was the first Kent payer to score 10,000 runs and take 1,000 wickets for the county in first-class cricket and remains one of only two to do so, the other being Frank Woolley.