Gareth Berg was destructive with the new ball while Matt Kelly and Will Young enjoyed productive debuts on the opening day of Northamptonshire’s clash with Yorkshire in the LV = Insurance County Championship.
A pair of late wickets saw honours even with Ricardo Vasconcelos and night-watchman Simon Kerrigan falling in reply to Yorkshire’s 296 all out.
Thompson’s double strike followed a quick-fire 51 which guided Yorkshire from the choppy waters of 206-7 to the brink of a third batting point.
Rising star Harry Brook top scored for the visitors with 84, sharing a stand of 131 with Dawid Malan, while Gareth Berg snared 5-58, his seventh five-wicket haul in first-class cricket.
Berg soon gave Tykes skipper Steven Patterson reason to regret his decision to bat with three wickets in a typically probing opening spell.
The elder statesman of the new-ball art was indebted to debutant Will Young for the wicket of Adam Lyth, the New Zealander hurling his 6ft 2” frame to his right at second slip to clasp the edge inches above the turf. Berg, then induced a thin nick through to keeper Lewis McManus to send George Hill packing for a duck.
It should have been even better two balls later when Malan edged another ball which moved away off the seam, Vasconcelos unable to hold on at slip.
Undeterred Berg struck again in his sixth over when Dimuth Karunaratne gave McManus more catching practice, but the dropping of Malan was to haunt the hosts for some time.
Karunaratne’s demise brought Brook to the crease fresh from his unbeaten half-century in last week’s win over Gloucestershire. The 23-year-old made a century in Yorkshire’s win in the same fixture a year ago and he was quickly into stride.
Meanwhile, Malan was making the most of his early reprieve as the 100-partnership came soon after the lunch interval, but Berg returned to pin him LBW.
Nevertheless with Brook continuing serenely on the visitors were in charge at 203-4 before the game took another turn. Ben Sanderson bowled Harry Duke before grabbing the prize wicket of Brook, both off the inside-edge and with Rob Keogh castling Dom Bess in the intervening over, Yorkshire suddenly found themselves pegged back.
Thompson though fought back aggressively, clattering a six into the advertising hoardings in a 69-ball 50, his fourth in first-class cricket, before Kelly removed him and Patterson in successive balls.
Fittingly, it was Berg who then bowled Harris Rauf to complete his fifer, leaving Yorkshire four runs shy of a third batting point.
Vasconcelos despatched the first ball of the host’s reply to the boundary, but Northamptonshire were largely circumspect, at one stage absorbing 36 balls without scoring.
Their bid to reach the close unscathed was undone by Thompson (two for 13) who trapped Vasconcelos in front before having Kerrigan taken at slip for a first ball duck.
Yorkshire 296 (Berg 5/58, Sanderson 2/40)
Northamptonshire 26/2 (Vasconcelos 15, Young 10*)
Full scorecard.