George Joseph Thompson (27 October 1877 – 3 March 1943) was the mainstay of the Northamptonshire county cricket eleven for a long period encompassing both its days as a minor county and its earliest years in the County Championship.
A huge man, standing well over six feet tall and weighing more than , Thompson was an excellent all-rounder. Despite his huge frame, his batting relied chiefly on a very watchful eye that made him a very hard man to dismiss when pitches were hard and firm. Though at times he would hit very hard, he had very little backlift and could play only a restricted range of strokes, and his size made him rather slow of foot and hence seldom likely to make many runs on the numerous rain-affected pitches of his day. As a bowler, he was above medium pace and could gain a great deal of spin, which made him respected when pitches were hard and frequently unplayable after rain or on a crumbling pitch. His large hands and long reach made him an excellent fieldsman at slip: in 1914 he achieved the previously unequalled feat as an out-fielder of taking three catches off consecutive balls against Warwickshire.
Early career
George Thompson was born in Northampton's Louise Road, and sent to Wellingborough School shortly after his mother died. For both of these clubs Thompson was already a major force even as a teenager.
Minor Counties and MCC
George Thompson first played for Northamptonshire in 1895 as an amateur when only seventeen, but would turn professional in 1897. Thompson's ability was demonstrated so quickly, that he made his first-class debut for the Marylebone Cricket Club against Essex as early as 1897, when he was not yet twenty. Thompson did nothing in his only appearance that season, and no games whatsoever in 1899. Nevertheless, from 1898 he formed a deadly partnership with bat and ball alongside William East for Northamptonshire in the new Minor Counties Championship, where the county was unbeaten for three years beginning in July 1898.
In 1900, Thompson plated five first-class games for M.C.C. with modest success, but surprised the critics with an excellent innings of 125 for the Players at the Scarborough Festival in September, where he played only because of the unavailability of John Gunn and Mead. In the following four seasons Thompson was amazingly successful for Northamptonshire in the Minor Counties Championship, In a match against a full-strength South Australian team at Unley Oval, Thompson took nine for 85 in the first innings and 12 for 198 in the match, although the locals would win after following on on a "good" pitch.
In 1904, Thompson averaged 42 with the bat and less than 11 with the ball, showing he was clearly too good for "second-class" level.
Early Career in First-Class County Cricket
When Northamptonshire became first-class in 1905, Thompson, though his team-mates showed themselves unable to compete at a higher level than Minor Counties cricket, bowled superbly even if he was aided by playing mostly during the wettest weather of the summer. The reward was a deserved Cricketer of the Year selection, He was invited to tour South Africa, but the Northamptonshire committee refused to let Thompson go for fear it would affect his work for the county in subsequent summers.
Though overworked in the absence of support bowlers, Thompson bowled excellently in 1906 and did the "double" of 1000 runs and 100 wickets in all first-class matches. He would take 24 wickets in three consecutive innings against Derbyshire and Leicestershire during June, a feat only equalled ten times in first-class cricket.
In 1907, despite the presence of Lancelot Driffield as a second support bowler alongside East, Thompson maintained his excellence with the ball and did the hat-trick against Lancashire at Old Trafford. However, Thompson declined so badly with the bat that he did not once score 40 in a first-class innings and averaged only 13.90 for 556 runs over 43 visits to the wicket. Then in 1908 he returned to form with the bat but his bowling declined so much that his average for all first-class matches rose to over 28 for just 84 wickets.
Northamptonshire's Rise to Prominence
Thompson rebounded so well in 1909 that he had his best season on record, taking 163 wickets and playing for England at Edgbaston, where his bowling was not required because Hirst and Blythe were so deadly. In the following winter his watchful eye on the matting wickets allowed Thompson to play the South African "googly" bowlers with more assurance than anybody except Jack Hobbs and in 1910 he again did the "double". On the rock-hard wickets of 1911, Thompson bowled as well as ever – so well that he headed the first-class averages, whilst his bowling and slip catching was a major factor in Northamptonshire rising to one of the top counties in 1912 and 1913.
Whilst he showed some decline as a bowler in 1914, Thompson batted better than ever, and it was a great pity for Northamptonshire that serious injuries prevented him playing at all until 1921, when he had lost his bowling completely but retained some of his batting skill. After a few games in 1922, Thompson's career ended tamely.