Thomas looks forward to England series

Having been picked as a reserve in the West Indies’ 25-man squad for their three-Test tour of England next month, Jamaican fast bowler Oshane Thomas says he is eager to make his mark in the longer format of the game.

Thomas is among 11 players selected as reserves by Cricket West Indies for the tour.

The 23-year-old has represented the West Indies in One-day International (ODI) and T20 cricket. He is, however, yet to make his Test debut for the regional side.

“It was a feeling of joy when I was selected, because I want to play Test cricket,” said Thomas. “Being home not doing anything and just getting this opportunity to be in England even if I am not playing, I will be training and keeping fit, and so I am really happy for this.

“I was called up in the England Test tour of the Caribbean, before, but I didn’t get to make my debut, but hopefully I will soon, or even this time around, because I definitely want to play Test cricket for the West Indies,” he said.

TEST CRICKET IMPORTANT

Thomas, who made his ODI debut in 2018 against India in India, underscored that he has been told by everyone around him that, in order to be a great cricketer, he must play Test cricket.

“Everyone kept beating it in my head that I can’t be bowling that fast and not playing Test cricket,” he said.

“Me and the coach (Phil Simmons) have had a lot of conversations about playing Test cricket, and so he always tells me that ‘you have to be in my team because you can’t be bowling that fast and not in the team’,” he stated.

Thomas has so far taken 27 wickets in 20 ODI matches at 32.07. In 12 T20 matches, he has captured 15 wickets at an average of 25.20.

He shared that he has been doing a lot of work on his fitness during the COVID-19 pandemic and, therefore, he is in excellent shape going into this tour of England.

“I have been doing training and I have been doing some bowling here and there at Melbourne Oval on the concrete, in order to stay in shape during this pandemic,” Thomas said.

– R.B.