 This included twelve five-wicket hauls, and six ten-wicket hauls, both career-best performances.Though once again struggling with the bat, scoring 246 runs at 10.69, Willsher’s 113 wickets was second in the list of wicket-takers for the 1868 season, behind only future Test player James Southerton, and Willsher's average easily out-performed Southerton's 13.76.Willsher enjoyed successes in 1869 and 1870, with 64 and 84 wickets respectively, and took 70 more wickets in 1871; however Willsher, by then forty-two years of age, began to enjoy fewer returns for his bowling.