Brief profile of Paul Thomas by Matthew Reed

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Player:

PA Thomas

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DateLine: 14th November 2005

 

Paul Thomas was a genuinely quick County fast bowler. However, like many a paceman bowler before him, he found the hectic schedule of the County game incompatible with keeping injury free. For a quick bowler, it was perhaps appropriate that he should make his debut for Worcestershire against the 1995 West Indian tourists. His match was nothing if not eventful. He took a wicket with his fifth ball, then left the field at the end of the first day with figures of 5-0-44-1, after a certain Brian Charles Lara decided to go after him. When play resumed on the third day (the second having bene washed out), Thomas showed no adverse affects and finished with 5-70. Such a performance (along with an energy and determination which seemed dwindle free) led many at New Road to think that he was a ready made replacement for the ageing Neal Radford and Phil Newport. However, even at the end of his debut season his championship wickets were costing him 54, which illustrated that for every brutish ball there were several more poor ones.

 

As with many young cricketers, his second season was actually harder than his first, as injuries and run-up problems knocked both his confidence and rhythm. A disastrous encounter with Stuart Law at the start of the 1996 season (where his 11 overs disappeared for 84 runs) didn’t help. With his above average pace, Thomas always had wickets in him. However, the concomitant to that was that his wayward deliveries tended to go to the boundary at an above average pace as well. Thomas had a real problem in bowling maidens, and it was this lack of control which made his captains reluctant to give him the new ball which his pace justified. After two disappointing seasons Thomas was released from New Road at the end of 1997. However, his determination to carry on in the professional game saw him play numerous matches for the Derbyshire Second XI, where he was frequently the quickest bowler on show, if not necessarily the most effective. His one match for a makeshift Derbyshire first XI provided a microcosm of his whole career. His bristling pace allowed him to pin Paul Grayson LBW early in his spell, although batsmen found him uncomfortable to face but comfortable to score of. Barely days after that match finished Thomas was playing for the Glamorgan Second XI, having seemingly been deemed surplus to Derbyshire’s requirements. He later represented Herefordshire in their Natwest and C & G trophy campaigns, where his raw pace was again a handful, especially for the Minor County and County Board players. His finest moment arguably came in 2001, when he was part of the Herefordshire side which defeated Middlesex with a ball to spare. Thomas was padded up, although he was ultimately unneeded with the bat. However, he had earlier set the tone by dismissing Andrew Strauss in the first over of the match.

 

(November 2005)

 

(Article: Copyright © 2005 Matthew Reed)