McDermott, all of whom he seemed at ease when facing during that epic innings. The following season, 1997–98, Hills was in the form of his life, and he scored two more double-centuries back-to-back; 205 against the Victorian Bushrangers, and then his career best 265 in the next match against Southern Redbacks. The two mammoth innings helped him to compile 1,220 runs for the season and again guide the Tigers to the Shield final. The tally also earned him the 1997–98 Sheffield Shield Cricket of the Year award. Hills came closest to receiving international honours following that brilliant season when he was selected for an Australia A tour of Scotland and Ireland. He made a dashing 118 in the opening match against Scotland, which was his highest-ever limited-overs score, but regrettably the match was not afforded official List-A status, and so Hills ended his career without an official limited-overs century to his name. In the 1999–2000, and 2000–01 seasons, Hills' form slumped dramatically, with his season average ending below 25.00 for the first time in both campaigns. in the 2000–01 season, he was dropped after just four matches, and after an illustrious decade leading the Tigers from the front, Dene Hills bowed out of First-class cricket with scores of 5 and 3 in his final two innings. Hills finished his first-class career with 7,894 runs at an average of 40.07 with a highest score of 265. As his playing career wound up, Hills also found time to represent Australia in 2001 in the Hong Kong Sixes competition in Kowloon, scoring the most runs in that year's tournament. Later life Following his career as a player, Hills moved into cricket coaching and spent time as an assistant coach with both the Tigers, and then the Australian national team. He also spent time working for the Cricket Centre of Excellence. In August 2008, he was named as a batting coach for the England and Wales Cricket Board. But in December 2010, during the 2010–11 Ashes series, he rejoined Australia as a performance analyst. References External links 1970 births Living people Tasmania cricketers Australian cricketers Scotland cricketers People from Wynyard, Tasmania Cricketers from Tasmania