In 1896, Yorkshire won their second County Championship. Hirst hit a century against Leicestershire and nine other scores over fifty; this improvement in his batting took him past 1,000 runs for the first time, and his average of 28.05 was substantially higher than he had achieved previously. With the ball he took 104 wickets, at the more expensive average of 21.61, to complete the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets for the first time. However, some critics in Yorkshire were unhappy that his batting had improved, believing that the extra effort involved would diminish his effectiveness as a bowler. They considered a powerful bowling attack to be vital to the team's success, more so than a strong batting line-up, and expressed the opinion that Hirst should concentrate on one discipline rather than dividing his energy. Over the next few seasons, these fears were proven to some extent, "Wisden" noting in 1901 that he was a less effective bowler than previously. In 1897, Hirst completed the double again. He scored 1,535 runs at an average of 35.69, with a century and 11 fifties, and took 101 wickets at an average of 23.22. These performances were good enough to earn him selection for the Players against the Gentlemen in the prestigious matches at The Oval and Lord's, in both of which he scored half-centuries.