Former all-rounder Thomas passes away

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Former Surrey and Gloucestershire all-rounder David Thomas has died aged 53 after a long and brave battle with multiple sclerosis.

Thomas was first diagnosed with MS when he complained of a neck injury sustained in a car accident during his Surrey career.

David Thomas, principally a left-arm fast bowler, was also an attacking lower-order batsman who scored two first-class centuries

Although he was wheelchair-bound for several years, Thomas remained a cheerful and upbeat character and worked hard to raise public awareness of MS.

He set up his own corporate hospitality company, Sporting Certainty Ltd, with his wife Louise and helped to raise funds for the Multiple Sclerosis Resource Centre.

Thomas, who was born in Solihull, played for Surrey between 1977 and 1987 and was an aggressive left-arm paceman, who formed an effective new-ball partnership with Sylvester Clarke.

He was also an attacking lower-order batsman who scored two first-class centuries in the 1983 season against Nottinghamshire at The Oval and Sussex at Hove.

Thomas took 50 wickets in a season twice in 1983, when he was named in England's 12-man squad for the Trent Bridge Test against New Zealand, and again the following summer.

He played first-class cricket in South Africa for Natal and Northern Transvaal and had a season with Gloucestershire in 1988 before he announced his retirement.

Thomas scored more than 3,000 runs and took 336 wickets in his 150 first-class matches, while also making 1,556 runs and claiming 142 wickets in one-dayers.

He retained close links with cricket after his retirement and was a past chairman of Surrey's former players' association.

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