Verity never spun the ball very far, particularly after his second tour to Australia, and preferred to concentrate on bowling a good length. However, critics did not think that Verity posed enough of a threat to batsmen and could be dull to watch. By the middle of his career, he had a reputation for being ineffective on good batting pitches, and was occasionally dropped from the England team for his lack of effectiveness. Even so, he only missed one Test against Australia and one against South Africa, the two strongest Test playing teams, after he made his debut. Verity believed his performances in unfavourable conditions for his bowling had greater merit than his successes in favourable ones. He once said: "Do not praise me when I have taken 8 for 20 on a sticky wicket, but when I have got 2 for 100 on a perfect wicket." At times, Verity almost seemed bored when bowling and performed less effectively, particularly if his side were winning without needing his contribution. Bowes once told the Yorkshire captain, Brian Sellers, that the way to get the best out of Verity was to tell him that everything depended on him.