Thomas overwhelmed as Tour victory serenaded
LONDON, Aug 1, (AFP): Geraint Thomas has been overwhelmed by the reaction to his Tour de France victory with one particular favourite a video featuring the likes of Elton John, Thierry Henry, Gareth Bale and Sam Warburton.
The 32-year-old Welshman — had yet to give much thought to the remark by 2012 Tour de France champion Bradley Wiggins that his life would change irrevocably.
“It’s just been one thing after the next,” said Thomas, an avid Arsenal fan who received a call from former Gunners manager Arsene Wenger following his win.
“Maybe when I get home tomorrow, shut the front door and sit on the sofa, it will start to sink in.
“I don’t know. I guess I’ll have to experience it to know what it’s really going to be like.
“But I don’t mind. I’m generally a pretty relaxed guy. We’ll see how it goes. Hopefully I can just go with
Thomas
the flow.”
Thomas, who is according to the paper set to sign a new contract with Team Sky worth £3,500,000 ($4.6m, 3.9m euros), said an early indication of how much had changed came with a photo he posted on Instagram of him and his wife Sara eating Welsh cakes in their hotel room in the early hours of Monday.
“That was crazy because I put that on my Instagram and then next day it’s on the front of a newspaper,” he said.
“It’s probably a sign of things to come.”
He admitted he deliberately dropped the microphone on the winners podium after being encouraged to do so by Sara and the team’s director of business operations Fran Millar, who were standing behind the podium.
“At the very end I thought ‘Sod it! I’ll do it’ ... and then it went viral,” said Thomas. 216 for three, with Root seemingly on course to score a first Test century since his 136 against the West Indies during last year’s day/night clash at Edgbaston.
But his 11th Test fifty without a hundred since that innings ended in frustrating fashion after a run out involving Yorkshire team-mate Jonny Bairstow.
Wicket-keeper Bairstow played the ball to midwicket for a single and then set off for what always looked a tight second, with Root comfortably run out by Kohli’s agile direct hit on the turn to end a 156ball innings including nine fours.
It was also the finish of a fourth-wicket stand worth 104.
However, Kohli rubbed salt into the wound by blowing kisses in the direction of Root and putting his finger to his lips, as if to quieten crowd of more than 18,000.
He also did the ‘mic drop’ gesture in imitation of Root’s celebration of his one-day series-clinching hundred against India at the batsman’s Headingley home ground last month.
But it is the suggestion that Kohli may have sworn at Root that could land him in trouble with match referee Jeff Crowe, the former New Zealand captain.
As has often been the case, a needless dismissal was also the spark for a collapse, with England losing three wickets for eight runs in 25 balls as they squandered a promising position.
One way Bairstow could have atoned for his part in denying Root a 14th Test century was to have gone to three figures himself.
But a brisk innings of 70 in 88 balls, featuring nine fours, was terminated when Bairstow played on to paceman Umesh Yadav as he tried to cut a ball that was too close to him.
Jos Buttler was then lbw for a secondball duck to off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who took four wickets for 60 runs in 25 overs, as he played across the line.
And when Ben Stokes (21) chipped a gentle return catch to Ashwin, England were 243 for seven.
They would have been all out a ball
India’s Mohammed Shami bowls during the first day of the first Test cricket match between England and India at Edgbaston in Birmingham, England on Aug 1. (AP)
before the close if diving wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik had not dropped Sam Curran (24 not out) off Mohammed Shami when an edged chance was heading straight to Shikhar Dhawan at first slip.
Nevertheless, it was England who had the most regrets come the close after Root won the toss on a typically good Edgbaston pitch.
Ashwin, brought on as soon as the seventh over by Kohli, struck with his 11th delivery when he bowled Alastair Cook (13), England’s all-time leading Test run-scorer, with an excellent ball that pitched on middle and hit the top of off stump.
Scoreboard