Under Leveson Gower's captaincy at Surrey, Hobbs had moved from the outfield to the covers and in this new position he flourished. Batsmen became mesmerised by the sleek figure of Hobbs patrolling the off-side. Booming drives were blocked almost with insouciance. Quick singles were full of danger. Apparently safe runs were suddenly turned into desperate lunges over the line as Hobbs, in one flowing movement, pounced on the ball and then hurled it at the keeper or the stumps. 'I never saw - and never hope to see - a finer cover than Jack Hobbs; even when there was cut on the ball, which so often happens to take it away to the left, he hardly ever fumbled, and his throw-in was perfect,' wrote the long serving Daily Express cricket correspondent William Pollock. Hobbs later explained 'I studied the methods of the players who were admittedly good, and where I could imitate them I did. Very soon I noted the beneficial effects. And as soon I took a real pleasure in straining after perfection in this department, I may claim that in time I became quite adept,' he wrote in 1926.
Hobbs prowess in the covers was based on a number of attributes. First, although he did not have a long throw, he certainly had a fast and accurate one. Contemporaries found it uncanny the way he could hit the stumps or the keepers gloves from almost any angle, a skill that reflected the same unerring special judgement that he brought to his batting. Again, as in his strokeplay, the was a perfect sense of timing in his arm action that helped to make his returns so swift. 'The only similar speed I've experienced was when I first kept to Harold Larwood,' said Strudwick of Hobbs throwing. Hobbs unique batting talent also gave him an instinctive sense of anticipation as a fielder. In a perceptive passage in a coaching manual, the Somerset cricketer Dar Lyon argued that this was the key to Hobbs brilliance 'Why was Hobbs the greatest cover in the game in modern times? It was because from his knowledge of batting he could tell by the way the batsman shaped for his stroke, by the the movement of his feet, in what direction the ball was coming. He could judge at once whether the batsman was going to play the ball gently to cover or hard. If the former, Hobbs took two or three more quick steps in, so that the batsman would at least have to scamper like a frightened rabbit if he was to steal a short run. Again, he could usually tell, by watching a batsman's position, if the coming stroke would send the ball to cover's left or two his right.' Another factor was Hobbs capacity for deception, a gift that mirrored the playful, mischievous side of his character. He loved to surprise the batsman by sudden changes of pace in his movements or by deliberately straying out of position. A vivid description of Hobbs cunning art was provided by The Daily Telegraph's Jim Swanton after watching him in action for Surrey 'He would walk about in an innocent, preoccupied sort of way, hands often in pockets between times. If the ball were pushed wide of him and the batsman made to run, he would usually move at quite a leisurely speed to cut it off. Then suddenly an apparently identical stroke would be repeated and this time the relaxed figure would sprint into action with cat-like swiftness - there was a dart, a swoop, and the swiftest of flicks at the stumps, with the batsman pounding to the crease, as if for dear life.' All these skills were on display in the 1911/12 series, when he developed a fearsome reputation among the Australians for his dexterity and speed. During all matches on the tour he was estimated to have run out fifteen batsmen and it was said that in the Australian dressing room batsmen were instructed not to take a run to him. 'In Hobbs we had a cover point the equal if any fieldsman in that position I have ever seen,' said Plum Warner.