The 22-year-old South Australia left-armer cut a swathe through the visitors in Darwin to take 8-25 off just 11 overs for the Cricket Australia XI to dismiss Bangladesh for just 54 in their second innings. Thompson had played just one first-class match previously, where he took three wickets for South Australia against Queensland. His performance in the Top End has given him a boost ahead of a summer where he should get plenty more cricket. There was enough in it early on day one with the ball and played steady throughout the whole three days. "The opportunity to bowl against the best batters in Australia gave me good experience heading into this year."