Hirst's poor form continued when he returned to England for the 1898 season. Fatigue from continuous cricket and ongoing problems with his leg added to his difficulties and he had a poor season. His only score over fifty was an innings of 130 against Surrey, and he scored 567 runs at an average of 17.71. Statistically, he had one of his worst bowling seasons, taking 36 wickets at 25.61 and never taking more than four wickets in an innings. For Yorkshire, Hirst's loss of form was offset by the debut of Wilfred Rhodes, also from Kirkheaton, who took 154 wickets in his first season. In 1899, Hirst showed a big improvement in his batting form, scoring 1,630 runs—his best tally to date—at an average of 35.43. He increased his number of wickets to 82 at 24.75, and his form was good enough to earn selection for his first home Test match, against Australia. However, it was only injuries to three other candidates that secured his place as a fast bowler, and he was not selected in the rest of the series. "Wisden" noted: "It cannot be said that the experiment was in any way a success. Hirst worked hard for his side, his fielding indeed being perfection, but as a bowler he did not cause the Australians any trouble." When he played the tourists in their game against Yorkshire soon after the Test, Hirst took 13 wickets. Later in the season, he played for the Players against the Gentlemen, though without any great success.