England he continued with this faster style until the First World War. Rhodes thought that another reason for his relative bowling decline was the development of his batting which took up much of his time. His biographer, Sidney Rogerson, speculates that further deterioration may have been caused by the strain of regular bowling on his fingers and wrist, and his more robust, muscular frame in his mid-twenties. Rogerson believes that Rhodes was affected by the break-up of the successful Yorkshire team which had peaked between 1900 and 1902. More batting responsibility was placed on his shoulders, and he received less support in the field as the team personnel changed. Consequently, Rhodes scored more runs and moved further up the batting order after 1903, but his bowling gradually declined until the war. In 1904, Rhodes took 131 wickets, the fewest in a season of his career to date. He scored 1,537 runs, including two hundreds (the second and third of his career) to complete his second double. He generally batted at number six or seven in the batting order, but in two games he opened the batting. In 1905, Yorkshire won the Championship; Rhodes again completed the double, with 1,581 runs, his two hundreds including a double hundred. He took 182 wickets, but Wisden judged that he was not as dangerous a bowler on slow wickets as he had been. Rhodes played in four of the five Tests against Australia that year. He scored 29 and 39 not out in the first Test, but in the second, suffered an injured finger which reduced his effectiveness and caused him to miss the next Test. In the fourth Test, Rhodes took five wickets in the match, including three for 36 in the second innings. However, the England captain, Stanley Jackson, showed, in the words of Wisden, "a curious want of faith in Rhodes", even though he was bowling well. His fielding was singled out for praise as he took four catches, two of them regarded as brilliant. England eventually won the series 2–0; Rhodes contributed 146 runs, at an average of 48.66 and a top score of 39 not out, and ten wickets at an average of 31.40. The relative deterioration in Rhodes's bowling continued into the 1906 season when Wisden commented that he had lost his sharp spin and was not dangerous on a hard wicket. Rhodes scored 1,721 runs, now regularly