By Neto Baptiste
National and Leeward Islands cricketer, Devon Thomas, has disagreed with pundits that his best chance of impressing West Indies selectors is from behind the stumps.
Speaking on the Good Morning Jojo Sports Show, Thomas said he has not entirely ruled up a return to the wicket-keeping position but believes his strong suit is his batting and that if he is to earn a recall to the senior team, he much do so with the bat in his hands.
“Looking at the performances since I’ve been playing, I think I’ve been doing reasonably ok, enough to get a look in [into the West Indies team] but at the end of the day I don’t have any control over that so I just have to keep putting in the work because at the end of the day I am more of a batting wicketkeeper and I think this [batting] is the most important thing for me at the moment or is my strongpoint I should say,” he said.
“The wicket-keeping is simply a plus and that could have set me into the West Indies team lately and even last year but at the end of the day I need to put in the work because I think I can make it as a batsman still,” he added.
Thomas scored a total of 197 runs in nine matches for the St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots in this year’s Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL), hitting a highest of 55. He batted at an average of 24.62 and had a strike rate of 96.09.
The Antiguan said his role in this year’s tournament was to bat through the innings.
“The role I got this year was simple. The captain [Darren Bravo] spoke to me and said he doesn’t want to score 20 and 30 from 15 balls. He wants me to score a run a ball so I set up the innings for if I could bat up to the 14th over to set up the game for the power at the end so that was my role this year,” the player said.
Thomas played only one season for Leeward Islands before being given his One Day International debut on 28 July 2009 against Bangladesh while the first team were involved in a pay dispute with the West Indies Cricket Board. He batted in only one innings, scoring 29 from 32 balls, and took two wickets with his right-arm medium pace bowling.