[4] A. G. Steel, who was noted for his expertise in "twisting (spinning) the ball from both sides of the wicket",[5] took 5/49 and 9/63 for a match return of 14/112.
[9] By 1886, when Lord Hawke's captaincy of Yorkshire began in earnest, Hunter was one of the team's senior professionals.
From the beginning of the 1886 season, Hawke adopted a "new broom" philosophy with the determination of leading Yorkshire to success.
[10] In its issue of 25 September 1884, published just after Hunter left for Australia with Alfred Shaw's XI, the magazine Cricket: A Weekly Record of the Game featured him on its front page.
Each of Ned Stephenson, George Pinder and Joe Hunter had "in turn bravely upheld the honour of Yorkshire for pluck in this responsible position".
[2] While Hunter was not "as good as Pilling or Sherwin", he was the obvious choice, when they were both unavailable, to stand in for the Players against the Australians at The Oval in July 1884 and to join Shaw's XI on the voyage to Australia for the 1884–85 tour.
[2] Cricket mentioned that Hunter was very much a tail-end batsman who had shown little improvement in that department but, in keeping wicket against fast bowling, he had "certainly no superiors".
[2] As mentioned in the Cricket feature, Hunter was invited to represent the Players against the 1884 Australians at The Oval on 31 July.
The Players, captained by Tom Emmett, won the toss and batted first but were bowled out by Fred Spofforth (8/62) for 107.
Australia replied with 151 and Hunter completed three stumpings to dismiss Percy McDonnell, George Giffen and Tup Scott, who were all top-order batsmen.
Yorkshire led Middlesex by 15 runs after the first innings but were bowled out for 43 in their second, George Burton taking 7/18 (10/71 in the match).
He later became a pub landlord, first in Scarborough, then in Doncaster and finally at the Wheatsheaf in Rotherham where he died, suddenly, in January 1891, aged 35.
[3][16] Wisden said Hunter at his best "was good enough for any county team", although he was not a top rank keeper like Dick Pilling or Mordecai Sherwin.