Yorkshire CCC’s Jordan Thompson hailed as perfect professional

That is the verdict of Yorkshire captain Steve Patterson on Jordan Thompson the young all-rounder who has continued his excellent form from last season.

Thompson was the club’s player of the year in 2020 following an injury to fellow all-rounder Matthew Waite that gave him his chance on the eve of the campaign.

He ended up as the club’s leading wicket-taker in the Bob Willis Trophy and came second in the batting averages, too.

“I love him as a cricketer, I love his attitude, I love his determination,” Patterson told The Yorkshire Post after Saturday’s play against Kent had been washed out.

“And his level of skill is very high also.

“It’s just a delight to have him in the side.

“In many ways, he’s a captain’s dream.”

With Andrew Gale, the Yorkshire first-team coach, having recently described Thompson as “my type of cricketer”, the sort that plays the game hard but fair, the 24-year-old is receiving some rave reviews.

Thompson is just one of those players who seems to make things happen, whether with bat, ball or in the field, an all-action sort who puffs out his chest and wears his heart on his sleeve.

Patterson’s confidence in him has been shown by the fact that Thompson has lately been given the new ball.

He even looks to have put on a yard of pace.

“Someone like Tommo, a lot of that is probably down to confidence,” said Patterson. “When he’s confident and he knows he’s playing well, like he is at the moment, then he probably runs in that little bit harder (with the ball).

“The fact that he’s taken the new ball recently, as opposed to bowling at different times, means that he’s probably hitting the pitch a bit more.

“He’s probably getting a bit more out of it because he’s bowling with a harder ball.”

As someone who loves being at the centre of attention, it cannot be easy sometimes to get the ball out of Thompson’s hands.

But Patterson said he is the perfect professional.

“He’s a captain’s dream too in the way that he wants to be bowling all the time, and that he’s happy to keep bowling, but also in the sense that he’s happy to accept whatever decision you make about who should be bowling,” added Patterson.

“If you need him then he’s always good to go, but, if you want to swap it and go with somebody else, he’s quite accepting of that, so he’s lovely to have in the side in that way.”

Both Thompson and Patterson have benefited this season from some excellent slip fielding, a key facet of Yorkshire’s cricket to date.

The combination of Tom Kohler-Cadmore at first slip, Adam Lyth at second and Harry Brook at third has been hugely impressive, a fact that Patterson is swift to acknowledge.

“It helps all of us, myself, Tommo, all the bowlers, to have such good slip fielders in the team,” said Patterson.

“The two key things for me are, firstly, that we’ve got a consistent slip cordon and those three lads are there all the time and there’s no chopping and changing.

“And, second, if you look at the practice they do, it’s no surprise that they generally catch very well because they work hard on it every day, day-in, day-out, and they put a lot of time into it, and that is why they get their rewards.

“It’s so reassuring as a bowler knowing that you’ve got lads there with good pairs of hands, and generally this year and last year they’ve caught very well.

“It’s been a really important part of our cricket.”