THOMPSON.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1378, 2 March 1912, Page 12

THOMPSON.

THE MAN WE SAW THIS WEEK. Interesting indeed is the career of G. J. Thompson, the English bowler who assisted Auckland's fortunes in the match against Wellington which ended on Monday. He was born, at Northampton, on October 27, 1877, and is sometimes described as "the man who made a county team"— it being a recognised fnct that, without Thompson, Northamptonshire would never have stepped into first-ckss rank. While his county'were still classed among tho "minors" in 1300 he appeared for the Players v. Gentlemen, at Scarborough, and made his mark by scoring 125. In the winter of 1902-3 he was included in Lord Hawke's eleven (under the leadership of P. F. Warner) which paid a visit to New Zealand. In the course of this tour he captured 117 wickets at the cost of 6J runs apiece. In he represented the Players against the Gentlemen at the Oval, and came off with the ball in the second innings, taking li wickets for 59 runs. The following season he secured a "double first"—compiling 1014 runs and taking 136 wickets in firstclass matches, with-103 not out against Cambridge University as his highest innings of the season. He maintained his batting form in 1908, but his bowling proved somewhat expensive although at times ho got wickets in quite his best style, notably his 7 for 29 against Derbyshire at Northampton —perhaps tho finest performance of his career. His record for the county in second-class matches prior to its elevation to lending rank makes interesting reading, and evidences his value to the side (luring the days when it was struggling for promotion. Batting. Season. Runs. H.S. Av'ge. 1898 416 77 21 1897 ' G79 120 ' 32 1898- 808 134 53 . 1809 574 95* 30 1900 688 186* 43 1901 .....> 624 164* 38 „1902 360 78 3G 1903 429 145* 33 1904 „ 590 167 42 Bowling. Wickets. Average. 1896 61 18 1897 90 13 1898 55 20 1899 67 17 1900 1 80 15 1901 107 13 1902 100 11 1903 92 10 1904 99 11 Batting in first-class matches for Northamptonshire:— Season. Runs. H.S. Av'ge. 1905 445 94" 16 1006 093 70 22 1907 .<. 452 38 17 1908 807 87 29 Bowling in first-class matches for Northamptonshire:— Season. Wickets. Average. 1905 75 16 1906 .•. 105 'J2 1907 115 17 1908 72 29 Well above medium in pace, lie sends down a ball with plenty of fire and sting, ■and on a worn wicket his bowling rises in disconcerting fashion to the timid batsman. In batting he has good defensive powers, is attractive in stylo, and often niti hard all round tht wicket,