Wainwright will be remembered for gaining the lowest bowling average in the history of the County Championship – 10.17 for 97 wickets in 1894, a summer of many sticky wickets. On these wickets, he would bowl a perfect length and his spin was such that the ball, "popping" from the crust of the turf, would gain pace so that not even the most technically correct batsman could hope to survive. However, Wainwright never had any sting on hard pitches. He did not take a single wicket in his five Test matches against Australia. Wainwright featured in four of the five Tests on Stoddart's 1897/98 tour of Australia, but found, not long into the visit, that his off spin was declining to turn. By the conclusion of the tour, Wainwright became convinced of his having lost the facility. When he arrived back in Yorkshire, Wainwright went straight to the nets and noted that the ball immediately started to spin in the manner to which he had been accustomed.