Who Is Campbell Thompson, the Bowler Who Destroyed Bangladesh by Taking 8 Wickets?

What did he do? The 22-year-old left-arm pacer took eight wickets for just 25 runs in Bangladesh’s second innings. His devastating spell bowled Bangladesh out for only 54 runs, handing Australia an innings-and-38-run victory.

Thompson is not an express pacer, but the left-armer knows how to bowl in the right areas. He can swing the new ball and consistently attack the stumps. That was enough to trouble Bangladesh’s batters in Darwin.

Had off-spinner Corey Rocchiccioli not taken two wickets, Thompson might even have finished with all 10. Given the way he bowled, that would hardly have been an exaggeration.

In the second innings, every Bangladesh batter except Amit Hasan and Mehedi Hasan Miraz was dismissed by the left-arm pacer. Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim and Najmul Hossain were among those who had no answers to his bowling. Tanzid Hasan was the only Bangladesh batter to reach double figures, scoring 22 runs.

Despite his remarkable performance, Thompson did not make any bold claims about his achievement.

“Sometimes you get a bit of luck, and that was the case today. Getting the opportunity to play against a Test team just a few days before the series is always a great experience and a great opportunity,” he said.

However, his eight-wicket haul cannot simply be attributed to luck. After the match, he explained the plan behind his outstanding spell.

“We got our plans right this morning. We were clear about how we wanted to use the new ball. The goal was to swing the ball and attack the stumps,” Thompson said.

Before making his first-class debut for South Australia last season, Thompson represented the Prime Minister’s XI against the England Lions. In that match last November, he gained valuable experience playing against cricketers of international standard.

He later made his debut for South Australia in both the One-Day Cup and the Sheffield Shield. In the Sheffield Shield, he even troubled experienced batters such as Usman Khawaja. Thompson says that experience has given him greater confidence.

However, he was unable to complete last season because of injury. He suffered a hamstring injury during a One-Day Cup match and spent almost a month in rehabilitation toward the end of the season. He then moved into pre-season preparations.

Even after his impressive performance against Bangladesh, Thompson is not looking too far ahead. The young pacer wants to take his career one step at a time.

Thompson’s performance also serves as a major warning for Bangladesh. Their Darwin Test begins on August 13, where they will face world-class Australian bowlers such as Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood.

That challenge will undoubtedly be much, much tougher.