Greg Thomas
Encyclopedia
Greg Thomas is a Welsh
former cricket
er, who played in five Tests
and three ODIs for England from 1986 to 1987.
, a rare sight in English cricket after the retirement of Bob Willis
. But apart from the raw pace, he was erratic and often had injury problems. He matched the speed of the fearsome West Indian pacemen on the tour of West Indies in 1985/86, but leaked too many runs with his wayward bowling. This difficult tour was followed by one Test in England, disruptive injury and an unsuccessful, and fruitless, switch to play for Northamptonshire
.
The West Indian batsman Viv Richards
was notorious for punishing bowlers that dared to sledge
him. So much so, that many opposing captains banned their players from the practice. However in a county game against Glamorgan
, Greg Thomas attempted to sledge him after he had played and missed at several balls in a row. He informed Richards: "It's red, round and weighs about five ounces, in case you were wondering". Richards hammered the next delivery out of the ground and into a nearby river. Turning to the bowler, he commented: "Greg, you know what it looks like, now go and find it".
Injuries eventually forced Thomas to retire early. He has a daughter Hermione, and a son Will, and lives with his second wife, Sarah, in Northamptonshire
.
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
former cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er, who played in five Tests
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
and three ODIs for England from 1986 to 1987.
Life and career
He was a genuine fast bowlerFast bowling
Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling...
, a rare sight in English cricket after the retirement of Bob Willis
Bob Willis
Robert George Dylan Willis MBE , known as Bob Willis, is a former English cricketer who played for Surrey, Warwickshire, Northern Transvaal and England...
. But apart from the raw pace, he was erratic and often had injury problems. He matched the speed of the fearsome West Indian pacemen on the tour of West Indies in 1985/86, but leaked too many runs with his wayward bowling. This difficult tour was followed by one Test in England, disruptive injury and an unsuccessful, and fruitless, switch to play for Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire County Cricket Club
Northamptonshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Northamptonshire. Its limited overs team is called the Northants Steelbacks. The traditional club colour is Maroon. During the...
.
The West Indian batsman Viv Richards
Viv Richards
Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards, KNH, OBE is a former West Indian cricketer. Better known by his second name, Vivian or, more popularly, simply as Viv or King Viv Richards was voted one of the five Cricketers of the Century in 2000, by a 100-member panel of experts, along with Sir Donald...
was notorious for punishing bowlers that dared to sledge
Sledging (cricket)
Sledging is a term used in cricket to describe the practice whereby some players seek to gain an advantage by insulting or verbally intimidating the opposing player. The purpose is to try to weaken the opponent's concentration, thereby causing him to make mistakes or underperform...
him. So much so, that many opposing captains banned their players from the practice. However in a county game against Glamorgan
Glamorgan County Cricket Club
Glamorgan County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Glamorgan aka Glamorganshire . Glamorgan CCC is the only Welsh first-class cricket club. Glamorgan CCC have won the English County...
, Greg Thomas attempted to sledge him after he had played and missed at several balls in a row. He informed Richards: "It's red, round and weighs about five ounces, in case you were wondering". Richards hammered the next delivery out of the ground and into a nearby river. Turning to the bowler, he commented: "Greg, you know what it looks like, now go and find it".
Injuries eventually forced Thomas to retire early. He has a daughter Hermione, and a son Will, and lives with his second wife, Sarah, in Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
.