Hearne was a medium-paced right-arm bowler who, similar to his brother Jack bowled with great accuracy and a pronounced off-break.

[3][5] He seemed fit at the start of the 1896 season but in his third match against Yorkshire at Leeds his knee "gave way so badly" that he was forced to retire from cricket, surgery proving ineffective.

[3][4][6][7][8] Hearne took on the role of official scorer for Kent after his retirement, retaining the post for the rest of his life.

He scored in each Kent's four County Championship winning sides between 1906 and 1913 and resumed the role after the First World War.

[3] He died at Canterbury in Kent in 1925 aged 61, his cousin Alec Hearne taking over the role of scorer.