After some mixed early performances for England, Hobbs' success against South African googly bowlers made his place secure, and by 1911–12, when he scored three centuries in the Test series against Australia, critics judged him the world's best batsman.

After serving in the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War, he maintained his reputation when cricket resumed in 1919, but his career was threatened by appendicitis, which caused him to miss most of the 1921 season.

Among the first batsmen to succeed against previously devastating googly bowlers, he adapted his technique to meet the new styles of bowling that arose early in his career; he mixed classical shots with an effective defence.

[11] In his final year at York Street, to supplement the family budget, Hobbs took a job working before school hours in the domestic service of a private house.

[12][13] On leaving school in 1895, he worked as an errand boy until his father's connections at the university secured him a summer job as a college servant, chiefly assisting the cricket team.

[13] Aged 16, Hobbs became an apprentice gas fitter,[13] and practised cricket on Parker's Piece, an open area of common land in Cambridge, in his spare time.

[14] He played for various local clubs but did not initially stand out as a cricketer: although better than most other Cambridge batsmen, no coaches or major teams approached him, and his batting gave little indication of the success which came later.

[21] Despite local fund-raising efforts for the bereaved family, Hobbs senior's death left his wife and children facing great financial hardship.

That county never replied[23]—Hobbs later scored his maiden first-class century against them[5]—but Hutt was more successful when he asked Hayward to look at Hobbs with a view to recommending him to Surrey.

[22] Hobbs was summoned to Surrey for a trial in April 1903, and subsequently offered a contract with the ground staff at the Oval on a basic wage during the season of 30 shillings a week.

Around this time he played football for local teams as a forward with some success, but struggled financially during the winter months and found it hard to find employment.

[65] In the fourth match, he scored 57 on a pitch badly affected by rain; by adopting a policy of attacking the bowling he hit ten fours.

The Surrey captain and England selector H. D. G. Leveson Gower persuaded the committee to include Hobbs in the squad, then convinced a reluctant MacLaren to play him in the team.

[91] Wisden commented: "Beyond everything else from the English point of view the feature of the trip was the superb batting of Hobbs, who easily adapted himself to the matting wickets and scored from the famous googly bowlers with amazing skill and facility.

From March 1915 he found extra work as coach at Westminster School,[138] and in May began to play on Saturdays as a professional for Idle in the Bradford Cricket League.

[142] Hobbs joined the Corps in October 1916 as an air mechanic and after training was posted to London, then Norfolk; at first he had time to appear in charity cricket matches and in several games for Idle.

[147] During the season, he began to open the batting with Andy Sandham, who succeeded to Hayward's position as Hobbs' partner; in the following years, the pair established an effective partnership.

One unsuccessful attempt to chase the ball caused some of the crowd to jeer him, which led to controversy when two amateur members of the team, Percy Fender and Rockley Wilson, wrote scathingly about the incident.

[176] The season also marked a turning point in his batting approach where he preferred to score more slowly and take fewer risks, in contrast to his adventurous pre-war tactics.

After the MCC accepted his request to allow his wife Ada to accompany him—the wives of professionals were not usually permitted to tour—he changed his mind,[190] and was added to the England team for the fifth Test.

[39] He finished second in the national averages,[182] and the cricket press noted that, although Hobbs scored more slowly and in less spectacular fashion than previously, he batted in a safer, secure style which was more successful in terms of run-scoring.

[191] The MCC team which toured Australia under the captaincy of Arthur Gilligan in 1924–25 lost the Test series 4–1, but critics thought the winning margin flattered the host country.

[197] Even so, Australia won the game by 81 runs,[198] and in the aftermath of the defeat, Cecil Parkin, a former Test bowler and vocal critic of Gilligan's captaincy, wrote a newspaper article suggesting that Hobbs should assume the leadership of the side.

[210] He scored the 125th century of his career against Kent on 20 July,[211] but amid intense press and public interest, Hobbs lost form through a combination of anxiety and fatigue.

[222] During the fourth Test, he temporarily assumed the captaincy when Arthur Carr withdrew from the match owing to illness; Hobbs became the first professional to captain England at home.

[238] Hobbs toured Australia for a final time as a player in 1928–29 as part of a strong MCC team,[239] and despite substantial scores in early games, did not bat well.

[242][243] Hobbs and Sutcliffe survived to add 105 for the first wicket; observers praised their technique against the turning ball, although the Australian bowlers were criticised for ineffective tactics.

[281] Neville Cardus said that Hobbs was the first batsman to develop a technique to succeed consistently against googly bowlers, and that he mastered all types of bowling, all over the world and in a variety of conditions.

"[288] He played every type of shot—he did not have a "signature" shot like other batsmen, but selected his strokes effectively;[289] according to Alec Kennedy, who bowled to Hobbs, it seemed that he could predict what the bowler would do.

[287] However, others contend that his impact on the game, his achievement in showing that professionals could bat as freely and stylishly as amateurs, and his kindness place him among the top cricketers of all time.