Alfonso Clive Thomas (born 9 February 1977) is a South African former professional cricketer. He is a right arm

fast-medium Fast bowling (also referred to as pace bowling) is one of two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket, the other being spin bowling. Practitioners of pace bowling are usually known as ''fast'' bowlers, ''quicks'', or ''pacemen''. T ...

bowler and a big hitting lower-order batsman. Playing in South African domestic cricket for

North West The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

, Northerns, the

Titans In Greek mythology, the Titans ( grc, οἱ Τῑτᾶνες, ''hoi Tītânes'', , ''ho Tītân'') were the pre-Olympian gods. According to the ''Theogony'' of Hesiod, they were the twelve children of the primordial parents Uranus (Sky) and Gai ...

, the

Lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; ad ...

, and the

Dolphins A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (t ...

, Thomas has also played English county cricket for

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avo ...

and

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...

Indian Premier League The Indian Premier League (IPL), also known as TATA IPL for sponsorship reasons, is a men's T20 franchise cricket league of India. It is annually contested by ten teams based out of seven Indian cities and three Indian states. The leagu ...

matches for the

Pune Warriors Pune Warriors India were a franchise Twenty20 cricket team that represented the city of Pune in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The team was one of two IPL franchises from the Indian state of Maharashtra, the other being Mumbai Indians. It was ...

, and in Australian domestic cricket for the

Adelaide Strikers The Adelaide Strikers are an Australian professional Twenty20 franchise cricket team based in Adelaide, South Australia that compete in the Big Bash League (BBL).Cricket Australia (n.d), Teams and Players, Cricket Australia, accessed 1 Decembe ...

and the

Perth Scorchers The Perth Scorchers is an Australian domestic Twenty20 franchise cricket team representing the Western Australian city of Perth in the Big Bash League (BBL). The Scorchers are the current BBL Champions, having defeated the Sydney Sixers in the ...

. In June 2014, Thomas took four wickets in four balls in a County Championship game against Sussex. He was a pioneer of death bowling in the early years of T20 cricket.

Career

South African domestic career

Thomas made his first-class debut playing for Western Province B in

Newlands, Cape Town Newlands (Nuweland) is an upmarket suburb of Cape Town, South Africa. It is located at the foot of Table Mountain in the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town, and is the wettest suburb in South Africa due to its high winter rainfall. The neighborhood ...

in the 1998/99 season. In three first-class matches for Western Province B, he took two wickets, and did not play another first-class match until the 2000/01 season after a move to

. His North West and

SuperSport Series The CSA 4-Day Domestic Series is the domestic first class cricket competition of South Africa. The tournament is contested by teams from all nine provinces of South Africa. First contested as the Currie Cup from 1889–90, the tournament has u ...

debut came against

Gauteng Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...

, where he finished with match figures of 6/120. Thomas scored his maiden century only two games later, hitting 106

not out In cricket, a batter is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batter is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress. Occurrence At least one batter is not out at ...

while batting at number ten, setting a record tenth wicket partnership for North West of 174 with

Garth Roe Garth Roe (born 9 July 1973) is a South African cricketer. He played in 79 first-class and 100 List A matches between 1993 and 2005. See also * List of Eastern Province representative cricketers This is a list of all cricketers who have playe ...

as he did so. Four months later, Thomas was involved in another record breaking partnership for North West. With the team at 87/7 against Western Province, Thomas joined

Morne Strydom Morne is an Old-French word for a small mountain. It may refer to: * Morne a Chandelle, a village in the Sud-Est department of Haiti * Morne-à-l'Eau, a commune in Guadeloupe * Morne Bois-Pin, the fourth highest mountain in Haiti * Morne la Vigi ...

at the crease. 492 balls later when Strydom was caught by Neil Johnson, the pair had added 204 to the score; Thomas eventually going on to score 95 not out. The following match, Thomas achieved his first five-wicket haul in first-class cricket, as he took the wickets of Easterns top five batsmen during a ten wicket victory; finishing the innings with 6/26. Thomas started the 2001/02 season on top form, claiming five-wickets in an innings on three occasions in the first five games, against Boland, Western Province, and Griqualand West. He represented South Africa in the

Hong Kong International Cricket Sixes The Hong Kong Cricket Sixes is a Six-a-side international cricket tournament held at the Kowloon Cricket Club comprising between eight and twelve teams. Organised by Cricket Hong Kong, it is sanctioned by the International Cricket Council. The ...

in November 2001, having a stand-out performance in a Pool One match against

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

as he took 2/4 in his over. He finished the 2001/02 season as North West's leading wicket-taker, with 35 wickets at an average of 22.14. His form saw him picked for South African Board President's XI and South Africa A to play the touring

India A The India A cricket team is a national cricket team representing India. It is the second-tier of Indian international cricket, below the full India national cricket team. The team is currently captained by Priyank Panchal in first-class cricket a ...

side. In a shortened 2002/03 South African domestic season due to the

ICC Cricket World Cup 2003 The 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup was the eighth Cricket World Cup, organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya from 9 February to 23 March 2003. This edition of the World Cup was the f ...

, Thomas only appeared in three first-class and five one-day matches for North West, although he did once more represent South Africa in the Hong Kong International Cricket Sixes. He made his second career century against Northerns, making 119*. He moved to Northerns for the start of the 2003/04 season and had immediate success with 36 wickets in his eight SuperSport Series matches. His debut for the club, in which he took three wickets and three catches during Western Province's first innings to help restrict them to 173, was overshadowed by future

teammate

Charl Willoughby Charl Myles Willoughby (born 3 December 1974) is a retired South African cricketer who played two Tests and three One Day Internationals for South Africa between 2000 and 2003. He played for Boland and Western Province before spending two s ...

, who took 7/56 & 4/56 to earn himself man of the match. In the

Standard Bank Cup The CSA One-Day Cup (formerly known as the Standard Bank Cup, the MTN Domestic Championship, and the Momentum One-Day Cup) is the premier domestic one-day cricket competition of South Africa, its matches having List A status. Matches are usually ...

, Thomas' 17 wickets helped the club finish third in the league, which saw them qualify for the semi-finals. The 2003/04 season also saw the introduction of

Twenty20 Twenty20 (T20) is a shortened game format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two teams have a single inn ...

cricket in South Africa in the form of the

Standard Bank Pro20 Series The Betway T20 Challenge is a domestic Twenty20 Cricket competition in South Africa, first contested in the 2003–04 season. It was previously known as the Standard Bank Pro20 Series until the 2010–11 season, the MiWay T20 Challenge for the ...

. Thomas represented

, a re-branded team merging Northerns and Easterns. He finished the Pro20 season with five wickets from six matches, including three vital dismissals in the group match against

Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, jus ...

, when he claimed the wickets of Eagles' top three batsmen in his first two overs, helping to lead his team to a 90 run victory. Since then he has constantly represented South Africa A and was part of the Test tour to India, standing in for an injured

André Nel André Nel (born 15 July 1977) is a former South African cricketer who played all formats as a fast bowler. Since retired from international arena, he played county cricket for Surrey. He announced his retirement from international cricket on 2 ...

. He has represented South Africa in a Twenty20 International, taking 3/25

English county career

In August 2007, Thomas signed as Warwickshire's fourth overseas player of the season, playing nine matches for them through August and September. The following summer, he signed for

under the

Kolpak ruling The ''Kolpak'' ruling is a European Court of Justice ruling handed down on 8 May 2003 in favour of Maroš Kolpak, a Slovak handball player. It declared that citizens of countries which have signed European Union Association Agreements have th ...

. At the end of the 2015 season, it was announced that Thomas' contract with Somerset would not be renewed.

2009 Champions League Twenty20

In their first match of the

2009 Champions League Twenty20 The 2009 Champions League Twenty20 was the first edition of the Champions League Twenty20, an international club cricket tournament. It was held in India between 8 October and 23 October 2009 and featured 12 domestic teams from Australia, England, ...

, Thomas played a good lower-middle order innings to guide Somerset to a victory over

Deccan Chargers The large Deccan Plateau in southern India is located between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, and is loosely defined as the peninsular region between these ranges that is south of the Narmada river. To the north, it is bounded by the ...

. When Thomas came in, Somerset required 55 runs off the remaining 37 balls of the match. A record eighth wicket partnership for the club meant that when

James Hildreth James Charles Hildreth (born 9 September 1984) is a former English professional cricketer who played for Somerset County Cricket Club. He attended Millfield School, Somerset. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional right-arm medium pace bow ...

lost his wicket from the first ball of the final over, Somerset needed five runs off as many balls. The following ball resulted in no score, and then the wicket of number ten Max Waller. This wicket allowed Thomas on strike, and he struck a boundary off the fourth ball of the over, and then after a near

run out Run out is a method of dismissal in cricket, governed by Law 38 of the Laws of Cricket. A run out usually occurs when the batsmen are attempting to run between the wickets, and the fielding team succeed in getting the ball to one wicket be ...

involving number eleven

, Thomas hit another four from the final ball to grant Somerset the win.

Australian domestic cricket

Thomas was signed to the

for the inaugural 2011–12 season of the

Big Bash League The Big Bash League (known as the KFC Big Bash League for sponsorship reasons, often abbreviated to BBL or Big Bash) is an Australian professional club Twenty20 cricket league, which was established in 2011 by Cricket Australia. The Big Bash Le ...

, as one of the franchise's two international players. He played in all of Adelaide's seven matches in the tournament (one of three players to do so), taking five wickets at an average of 35.40. His best bowling figures during the tournament, 3/24, were taken in a loss to the

Sydney Sixers The Sydney Sixers are an Australian professional franchise men's cricket team, competing in Australia's domestic Twenty20 cricket competition, the Big Bash League (BBL). Along with the Sydney Thunder, the Sixers are the successors of the New ...

at the

Adelaide Oval Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the city centre and North Adelaide. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby l ...

. Thomas did not re-sign with Adelaide for the 2012–13 season, instead signing with the

as a replacement for Albie Morkel, who had not received a clearance from

Cricket South Africa Cricket South Africa (CSA) is the governing body for both professional and amateur cricket in South Africa. In 1991, the separate South African Cricket Union and the South African Cricket Board merged to form the United Cricket Board of South Afr ...

. In eight matches during the tournament, he took twelve wickets at an average of 14.91, leading Perth's wicket-taking and finishing fourth in the competition's wicket-taking, behind Ben Laughlin (14 wickets),

Lasith Malinga Separamadu Lasith Malinga ( si, සෙපරමාදු ලසිත් මාලිංග; born 28 August 1983), nicknamed "Slinga Malinga", is a Sri Lankan former cricketer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest limited overs bowlers ...

, and

Ben Cutting Benjamin Colin James Cutting (born 30 January 1987) is an Australian cricketer who plays as an all-rounder. Cutting represented Australia in one-day internationals and T20 matches, and at the 2006 U-19 Cricket World Cup in Sri Lanka. Cutting pl ...

(both 13 wickets). Thomas' best figures, 4/8, were taken in the game against the Melbourne Renegades at the

WACA Ground The WACA (formally the WACA Ground) is a sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia. The stadium's name derives from the initials of its owners and operators, the Western Australian Cricket Association. The WACA has been referred to as Wester ...

, which are also his best in all Twenty20 matches.

Coaching career

In February 2018, Thomas was appointed bowling coach for the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

. In February 2019, Thomas was appointed bowling coach for

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Alfonso 1977 births Living people Cricketers from Cape Town South African cricketers South Africa Twenty20 International cricketers Adelaide Strikers cricketers Dhaka Dynamites cricketers Dolphins cricketers Northerns cricketers North West cricketers Perth Scorchers cricketers Pune Warriors India cricketers Somerset cricketers Staffordshire cricketers Sussex cricketers Titans cricketers Warwickshire cricketers Western Province cricketers South African cricket coaches