Darren Thomas

Darren Thomas made his debut for Glamorgan in 1992 and marked the occasion by taking 5 for 80 against Derbyshire.

Under the guidance of coach Duncan Fletcher, Thomas continued to produce accurate spells and improved his strike rate.

He was an integral part of the Championship winning side in 1997, bowling Glamorgan to the title with a victory over Somerset at Taunton.

Thomas capped this with a marvellous season in 1998. when he finished the summer as the county's leading wicket-taker with 71 first-class victims at 24 apiece.

He also scored 507 runs, and in the AXA League match against Surrey at Swansea he returned figures of 7 for 16 which are the best ever bowling analysis for Glamorgan in one day cricket, and the third best figures for any county in 40 overs cricket.

He was rewarded with a place in the England A party for the 1998/99 tour to South Africa and Zimbabwe.

He responded with eight wickets in the first Test and was called up as a replacement for the tour to New Zealand the following year.

He was Glamorgan's leading wicket taker in 1999 and 2000 and continues to pose a threat to the opposition batsmen.

He only played seven championship matches in 2005, and had a disappointing season in
the year that Glamorgan were relegated to Division Two.

2006 was Thomas’ benefit season but he was restricted to two appearances in the C&G Trophy and signed a one-year contract with Essex for 2007.

However, he sustained a shoulder injury during a pre-season spell at the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai in February 2007 and, though he played for the Essex second XI as a specialist batsman, was forced to retire late in the summer.