“It was an interesting lunch hour or lunch half-hour for me. A lot of thoughts [going through my head],” Thompson said.
“At 59/7, no disrespect to the guys at 9, 10, 11 but 150 was looking a long way away at that point and 150 would’ve meant us batting extremely well till beyond tea.”
Time at that stage was almost more important than runs for Hawke’s Bay. They had to bowl Taranaki out twice if they were going to have any chance of retaining the trophy and Thompson decided they might as well get on with it.
“It was a huge risk and it hasn’t paid off, but we gave ourselves a good chance of trying to get an outright win,” said Thompson.
“We did give up the first innings and essentially gave them the Hawke Cup at lunchtime on day one and then backed the group we had to try and win it back on the Sunday.
“There were a lot of texts going around about the declaration and a lot of people asking why and whatnot. It was a tactical decision which meant we could play until this time and that all results were in play until six o’clock on Sunday.”
Ultimately the very true Nelson Park pitch was too big an obstacle for Hawke’s Bay, along with the stubborn Taranaki fourth-wicket pair of Rupert Young (48 not out) and Liam Muggeridge (42 not out) who batted extremely well to thwart the home side’s hopes of an unlikely outright.
There will be people who ask questions about the make-up of the Hawke’s Bay bowling attack.
Todd Watson again broke down, after bowling just three overs in Taranaki’s first innings, while Charlie Robson only delivered four overs in the visitors’ second innings.
Thompson relied heavily on part-timers Thomas Zohrab and Brad Schmulian in both innings. The pair are very effective at this level, but they’re in the side to score runs and that’s where Hawke’s Bay fell short in this match.
Thompson says it’s up to each batter to decide upon their individual method at the crease, whether that’s being content to just occupy, accumulate runs in singles or look to deal in boundaries.
“There was some good bowling and then some shots that weren’t our best,” Thompson said.
“You can cop one or two nick offs before lunch. That’s good bowling.”
The inference being that perhaps one or two batters weren’t dismissed as a result of good bowling, in either innings.
Hawke’s Bay had worked hard to bowl Taranaki out for 157, but once they were 19-3 in their second innings winning was going to be an uphill battle. Thompson, Watson and Sam Cassidy all went past 50, while Liam McCarthy made 37 to go with his five wickets for the match.
Ben Stoyanoff bowled a lengthy spell at the end of Taranaki’s second innings and we’ll wait to see if he decides this will be his last season in Hawke’s Bay colours.
For those who are still around next summer, Thompson’s already setting some expectations.
The team largely used this season’s Furlong Cup as practice for the defence of the Hawke Cup, even if winning the toss and batting wasn’t part of that preparation.
But they might have to be more adaptable if they’re to earn a Hawke Cup challenge in the future.
“Maybe having to win the Furlong Cup next year is going to be a good incentive throughout the season to really turn up and to have that mindset where each performance is key,” Thompson said.
