Twenty20 cricket can be a funny old game. Jordan Thompson knows that as well as anyone after the weekend the Yorkshire all-rounder has just encountered.
Friday night at Leicestershire, Thompson had a night he would rather forget as the Vikings suffered a resounding defeat in the Vitality Blast. Defending a target of 152 at Grace Road, Foxes opener Sol Budinger hit the lion’s share of 30 off him in the fourth over to set the hosts on their way.
Fast forward almost 48 hours to yesterday afternoon and the Vikings’ away trip to Northamptonshire, and Thompson was outstanding in an impressive 29-run win.
He smashed 20 off seven balls with two sixes to boost their total to 186-6 before taking an excellent 3-18 from four overs of seam, including his 100th career wicket in this format, and adding a superb diving catch running in from square-leg to help Dan Moriarty get rid of danger man Ravi Bopara for 35 to all but kill the contest at 124-6 in the 16th over.
One day down, another day up. T20 cricket can really befuddle the mind.
But Thompson is an old hand at the grand old age of 27 and knows how to ride the wave.
Picture by David Rogers/Getty Images. Jordan Thompson celebrates one of his three wickets at Northampton on Sunday.
He has played 102 matches around the world since debuting for Yorkshire in mid-summer 2018.
He has taken 101 wickets and hit 932 runs, including his performances in the Hundred. The Pudsey St Lawrence man has played in big games, performed in them and is a T20 trophy winner.
“One hundred games ago, I’d have been a lot harder on myself,” he said, reflecting on Friday night.
“Going for 30 in one over was very disappointing, but I’ve played enough cricket now to know that I can turn it around within a couple of days and put in a match-winning performance.
“It’s an experience thing.
“Like I say, three or four years ago, I might have been a bit harder on myself. But knowing I had a game quickly afterwards to put it right, it was important to go out and try and win the game.
Picture by Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com. Jordan Thompson walks off with Donovan Ferreira (c) and Joe Root after Yorkshire bowled Worcestershire out for 101 at Headingley on Thursday.
“I was disappointed, yeah (on Friday).
“But, at the end of the day, had that 30 been a 10 off the over, we’d have still lost the game with two or three overs left.
“We got in the changing room after, and Rooty said to me, ‘Look at those nights like the quarter-final at the Oval (2022 when he defended five off the last over to win against Surrey) and they’re the ones that stick in your memory’.
“You have to take the highs and lows with a bit of consistency. It’s important you don’t get too high or too low.
“Enjoy the highs when they come around, but learn from the lows.”
Thompson has played his T20 cricket in England, Australia, Pakistan and the UAE. He was an ILT20 champion over the most recent winter with the Mumbai Indians Emirates team.
Picture: Jordan Thompson/Instagram. Jordan Thompson celebrates with the ILT20 trophy in February, tasting success with MI Emirates.
On the evolvement of his game, he said: “When you come into T20 cricket, you’re naive and you have your skills and you try to use them. But you don’t really know much about batters and you’re on your own in a way.
“You obviously give everything, but down the years people work you out and you have to change things.
“Four or five years of playing T20 cricket now, I definitely learnt how my game’s changed and learnt to adapt to certain conditions in different countries.”
That same mindset Thompson has spoken about around his individual development as a T20 cricketer also rings true, he believes, for Yorkshire’s progression as a team.
He went on: “T20 cricket can be hard.
“If you can get on a run of few games, there will be times when you get beat and beat well. So it’s a matter of putting things behind you and moving forwards.
Picture by Alex Davidson. ECB via Getty Images. Jordan Thompson celebrates after steering Yorkshire to Finals Day in 2022. In the Vikings’ quarter-final against Surrey at the Oval, he brilliantly defended a target of just five off the last over to win.
“We said in the changing room at Leicester, ‘We’ve had our pants pulled down’.
“The worst thing about it is that your net run-rate takes a massive hit (seven wicket loss with 5.5 overs left). But it’s a loss. Whether you get beat by 100 runs or one, it’s the same result.
“We had to come back full of confidence and get the win at Northampton.”
And Thompson is full of confidence. Yorkshire have won two out of their opening three North Group games, and have some early momentum as they bid, firstly, for a top-four finish and a place in the quarter-finals.
Of course, the ultimate aim is for the Vikings to win their maiden Blast title and secure the county’s first limited overs silverware since 2022.
“Absolutely,” added Thompson when asked whether this team has the capability to achieve that goal.
Picture by John Mallett. Jordan Thompson hits out late in Yorkshire’s innings against Leicestershire on Friday.
“We’ve got the experience in parts, and it’s going to be a competition of people chipping in where they can. It’s not going to be one person scoring the runs every day and one person taking the wickets. It will be a massive team effort.
“There’s a lot of T20 experience in that changing room.
“Donovan is good addition, and Shan’s as another overseas is very experienced.
“I think we’ve got the lads to take us there.”
Yorkshire are next in action on Sunday when they welcome Derbyshire Falcons to Headingley (3pm), as part of a T20 double header day with the Northern Diamonds. They face the Blaze at 11am in the Charlotte Edwards Cup.
