Hay was back with Derbyshire in the 1878 season, still beating Hickton to the mantle of second-choice bowler, though now he had to shake competition off from John Platts, in the same position.
Though he never played as often as he did during the 1878 season on any further occasions, Hay's round-arm bowling was at times preferred to John Platts' occasional deceptively-layered pace.
His two final first-class matches were in teams made up of a variety of players from all the major cricketing counties.
It was in a game in January 1889 against Grimsby Town that William Cropper, Hay's friend and teammate at Staveley and Derbyshire County Cricket Club, collapsed after a collision on the pitch.
The collision resulted in a ruptured bowel and Cropper died in Hay's arms in the dressing room.