Alex’s Bearing teeth to repay loyalty of Giles

OVERLOOKED by almost every first-class county at age-group level, it has been a long and circuitous route to the top for Alex Thomson.

But after signing his first-ever professional contract with Warwickshire this winter, the 24year-old all-rounder is now desperate to grab his chance.

The former Staffordshire man, who also played for Leek, is a product of the much-vaunted MCC Universities scheme and his four years at Cardiff Met proved vital in him finally making his breakthrough.

Last summer – his first since leaving university – Thomson played regularly for the Bears’ 2nd XI before finally getting his call-up to the first team at the back end of the season. He played the final two games of the County Championship season as Ashley Giles surveyed his post-relegation options.

And after passing 20 in three of his four innings, Thomson did enough to earn a one-year deal at Edgbaston that he feared might never come his way.

“I’m absolutely delighted – this is something I have been working towards for a long time, well my whole life really,” he said. “I have been playing cricket here, there and everywhere and I am so grateful to everyone who has helped prepare me for this stage. I went to Cardiff in case the dream didn’t come true.

“But at the same time I gave myself until the end of uni to push as hard as I could and give everything to see if I could make it work. And to sign for a county with such a great heritage, and with the quality already here, is just a dream come true. But I know that the hard work starts now.”

The Bears are not short in the all-rounder department for 2018 after the signing of Will Rhodes from Yorkshire to complement Chris Woakes and Grant Elliott. But Thomson’s improving off-spin could prove a vital back-up to new Bears skipper Jeetan Patel.

He had tasted first-class cricket before last summer, back in his university days at Cardiff Met, where he trained to be a PE teacher.

“This summer I had played a lot with the second team and that had gone well and then I got a call from Ashley Giles telling me I was going to play in the first team,” Thomson added.

“It’s not the same as playing MCCU, it’s a different atmosphere when you are playing against guys like Adam Lyth and Tim Bresnan. These are huge names who I have only ever really seen on TV and suddenly you are playing against them.

“Ashley didn’t really speak to me about all that stuff though, it was more about sticking to the basics. He told me I had earned my spot in the side. That gave me confidence and I went out there focusing on repeating my skills, like any other game. There is plenty of competition in this Warwickshire dressing room so I will have to keep practising hard but the short-term goal is to keep developing my game.”

And with some familiar faces in the Bears dressing room, both Alex Mellor and Liam Banks joined from Staffordshire, Thomson is already right at home.

“The links with Liam and Alex have helped,” he added. “It is always easier to go into a dressing room where there are already a few people you know that you feel comfortable with.”