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.
In 1900, Thompson surprised the critics with an excellent innings of 125 for the Players when called in at the last minute, but in the following three years he was amazingly successful for Northamptonshire in the Minor Counties Championship: in 1904, he averaged 36 with the bat and less than 10 with the ball, showing he was too good for that level.
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.
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 George Hirst and Colin 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".