Jordan Thompson believes he is heading into an important stage in his career, the all-action all-rounder looking to push both Yorkshire and himself forwards.
Thompson has just played the 58th first-class match of his career, and it was a particularly memorable one.
He contributed 70 with the bat in the first innings of the three-day Rothesay County Championship win over Worcestershire at Headingley, which concluded yesterday, and he took five wickets across both innings with his seamers.
Thompson made his first-team debut for Yorkshire in T20 cricket in 2018 and first appeared in List A and first-class cricket the following summer.
For all teams, including those such as London Spirit, Trent Rockets, Hobart Hurricanes, Karachi Kings and MI Emirates, Thompson has made a total of 174 senior appearances across all formats.
At the age of 28, he is not an emerging player anymore, more so one who is coming into his prime years.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com. Jordan Thompson dives in the field during yesterday’s final day against Worcestershire at Headingley.
“Yes, it’s an important one for me,” he said.
“I think you look at the boys that we’ve got coming through.
“We’ve got a few young lads, a couple of older lads, but also lads in their late 20s like myself, Bessy and Coady who need to stand up, perform and put winning performances in.
“It’s definitely an important part of my career, and for everybody else as well.
“Obviously, we’re back in Division One, so we want to do well and hopefully kick on.”
Thompson referenced putting in match-winning performances, and there were many who fell into that category. While they won’t win by 504 runs every week, the team-orientated display was definitely the blueprint moving forwards.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com. Jordan Thompson claimed five wickets in the match against Worcestershire added to a crucial first-innings 70.
For Thompson, it was particularly sweet.
After a winter’s hard work at home and abroad, he was left out of the team for the opening round defeat against Hampshire at the Utilita Bowl last weekend.
But he bounced back in grand style.
“I’ve been away, white ball again (ILT20, UAE at the start of the year),” he said of his winter.
“Red ball wise, I came back here and worked with John Sadler on mindset and mentality things with the bat. Mick Lewis coming in has also been refreshing.
“I don’t know if it’s noticeable or not, but I’ve changed a little bit with the angle of my run-up and keeping my wrist behind the ball to swing it more again.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com. Jordan Thompson bowls in the nets.
“I’ve felt like in recent years that I’ve not swung it as much.
“It’s important, and I felt good (against Worcester), especially up the hill as well.
“Definitely going away and obviously working in the winter has been important, but the new coaching staff have also helped me a lot as well.”
Thompson is only 25 wickets away from 200 in his first-class career, and he will hope to eat into that target with another good performance against Durham at the Banks Homes Riverside, starting on Friday. More importantly, Yorkshire would love to secure a second successive win.
“Going to Durham is always tough, but getting the win against Worcester was lovely, and we go up there with confidence. Hopefully we can take it forwards.
“We’ve got a week off after that, so put everything into Durham, get our feet up, and then we come back against Warwickshire here (May 2).”
