On four occasions, he completed the double: scoring 1,000 runs and taking 100 wickets in the same season, recognised as a sign of a quality all-rounder.

Kilner went on several coaching trips to India during English winters, and on one of these, in 1928, he contracted an illness; on his return to England, he died aged 37.

[10] Kilner made a good start to 1912 for Yorkshire Second XI, scoring centuries in two consecutive games; in the second he also took twelve wickets for 75 runs.

[11] These performances, coupled with continued good form for Harrogate, led to Kilner's recall to the Yorkshire first team in June.

[16][17] During his innings of 104, he hit 18 fours and shared a partnership of 184 in under two hours with his close friend Major Booth, rescuing Yorkshire from 58 for five and taking the score to 300.

[9][21] Kilner scored his second first-class century against Gloucestershire late in the season; he made 169 in nearly three and a half hours, hitting 28 fours.

[19] The United Kingdom declared war on Germany on 4 August 1914, while Kilner was playing in that season's Roses Match at Old Trafford.

"[25][26] With the suspension of the championship, Kilner and Major Booth enlisted in the army together, joining the Leeds and Bradford "Pals" in the West Yorkshire Regiment.

[27][28] While on leave in November 1914, Kilner married Annie Campbelljohn—the daughter of James Campbelljohn, an engineer—at Wombwell Parish Church; Booth served as best man.

Following the deaths of Booth in the war and Alonzo Drake from illness, as well as the decline in the bowling of the aging George Hirst, Yorkshire lacked an effective attack.

[8] His performances earned him a place in the Gentlemen v Players match at the end of season during the Scarborough Festival, although he neither took a wicket nor scored.

[19] Critics believed Kilner should have bowled more frequently, an opinion shared by Wilfred Rhodes, Yorkshire's main slow left-arm spinner.

Conscious of his increasing age, the 42-year-old Rhodes wanted support with the bowling workload; he considered Kilner the best option and encouraged him to improve his left-arm spin.

[44] By 1922, Kilner's bowling had improved to the point where he passed 100 wickets in the season for the first time, taking 122 at an average of 14.72,[9] helping Yorkshire to win the County Championship.

[54] He made a very effective start to the season, taking 27 wickets in the first four matches for just 157 runs,[55][56] including the best figures of his career, eight for 26 against Glamorgan,[57] and six for 14 against Middlesex.

[30][56][59] In the same season, Kilner was picked for the Gentlemen v Players match at Lord's Cricket Ground, the most prestigious such fixture at the time, where he scored eight in his only innings and took three wickets.

[30] After another winter coaching in India and practising his bowling,[61] Kilner took 145 first-class wickets at 13.28 during the 1924 English summer,[9] placing him second in the national averages behind his teammate George Macaulay.

The selectors left Kilner out of the next two Tests, all-rounder J. W. Hearne taking his place,[63][65][66] but he played in the Gentlemen v Players match at Lord's.

England's pace bowlers, Gilligan and Maurice Tate, had to leave the field injured, allowing Australia to recover; later the spinner Tich Freeman hurt his wrist and could not bowl.

[74] England fielded for nearly nine hours, and Kilner bowled 56 eight-ball overs to take four for 127, his first wicket in Test matches being Arthur Richardson.

[76] England could not match Australia's total, scoring only 365, but when the hosts batted again, rain fell and affected the pitch, making it responsive to spin bowling.

[79][80] In the final Test, Kilner took four for 97 in Australia's first innings, but could not prevent the home team's fourth victory of the series.

[8][9] During 1925, Kilner was awarded a benefit match and had an improved batting record for the season but critics began to notice a decline in his bowling.

[82] With the ball, he took seven wickets at 39.42,[85] but the editor of Wisden criticised much of the English bowling; he described Kilner's only notable achievement as quickly ending Australia's innings in the second Test at Lord's.

[98] Rhodes had a successful match and England defeated Australia to win the Ashes for the first time since 1912, but Kilner had played his last Test.

His Yorkshire teammates, Arthur Dolphin and Maurice Leyland, who were also in India, believed he became unwell after eating oysters, but it is not certain how or when Kilner became ill.

He was considered a good, reliable batsman when he began, although his style was regarded by Yorkshire critics as unorthodox to the point where they disapproved of some of his unusual, eccentric shots.

His brother Norman believed Roy was the person who coined the term "chinaman" to describe such a style, although other players have also claimed to originate the phrase.

[89][111] When he was chosen as a Bowler of the Year in 1924, Wisden remarked that he was devoted to the game, possessed a cheery temperament and stood out among players for his personality,[30] while his obituary described him as modest and generous.

Few modern professionals commanded such a measure of esteem and kindly regard from his own immediate colleagues and his opponents in the cricket field as did Roy Kilner".