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Fast bowler Thomas joins Gloucestershire club

Published:Sunday | April 9, 2023 | 1:00 AM
File West Indies’ Oshane Thomas bowls during the World Cup cricket match between South Africa and the West Indies at The Ageas Bowl in Southampton, Monday, June 10, 2019.
File
File West Indies’ Oshane Thomas bowls during the World Cup cricket match between South Africa and the West Indies at The Ageas Bowl in Southampton, Monday, June 10, 2019.

LONDON (CMC):

OUT-OF-FAVOUR WEST Indies fast bowler Oshane Thomas has joined top-flight Gloucestershire cricket club Frocester for the region’s new league season which gets under way next month.

Frocester describe the signing of 26-year-old Thomas, who made his international debut in 2018, as a “huge coup” for the club on their return to the West of England Premier League Premier One, which takes in teams from Bristol, Somerset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.

The club, based in the village of Frocester – with a population 155 – at the foot of the Cotswolds and 10 miles from county town Gloucester, won the Premier One title in 2007, 2014 and 2015.

They were runners-up in 2016 and were promoted back to the top flight following relegation, by being crowned champions of the tier-two Gloucestershire/Wiltshire Division last season.

Confirming the marquee signing, Ali Downey, Frocester’s committee chairman, said: “It just makes me want to smile. It’s a huge coup for our club to sign someone like Oshane and we cannot wait for him to arrive.

“It fits in with how we run the club and we want to ensure we give ourselves the best possible chance of competing back in Premier One.

“It will benefit the whole club from top to bottom and hopefully the wider cricket community who can experience the club and everything it has to offer.”

Thomas, a recipient of West Indies’ Emerging Player of the Year Award in 2019, has picked up 27 wickets in 20 ODIs, and 19 wickets in 20 T20Is.

However, he has been deserted by form and fitness and has not played internationally in nearly two years.

Thomas represented the Rajasthan Royals in 2019 in the Indian Premier League, and was also with the franchise during the 2020 season in the United Arab Emirates, where he replaced England captain Ben Stokes.

Thomas has also played for the Barbados Royals in the Caribbean Premier League and recently Comilla Victorians in the Bangladesh Premier League.

Frocester, who run four men’s teams on Saturdays, open their season on May 6 with a trip to Bath, last season’s champions and 11-time winners since the competition’s inception in 1999.