Norfolk spinner George Walker is delighted to see his club captain Mark Thomas back in the county side for tomorrow’s MCCA Knockout Trophy clash against Staffordshire at Manor Park (11am).
Walker, 23, who has himself returned to Norfolk duty this season after a year’s absence, believes Thomas’ performances as Swardeston skipper fully merited the recall: “It’s good to see the best 11 people picked for the team,” said Walker.
“He deserves his place in the side, he has vast experience and he can bat as well. He is a quality player.”
Thomas, 31, made his county debut in 1996 and was a member of the Norfolk side that won the MCCA Knockout Trophy at Lord’s in 1997. He would certainly have made many more appearances for Norfolk, but club politics – including the controversial removal in 1999 of his father, Peter, as chairman of selectors and his uncle, David, as coach – have played their part in making Thomas’ county career sporadic.
He played against Norfolk for Cambridgeshire in 2001, but briefly returned to the Norfolk side in 2005, helping them to win the MCCA Knockout Trophy again in a rearranged final at Slough.
That was his last appearance for Norfolk, but he returns to bolster the seam attack as the county bid to maintain their 100pc record in Group Two, having already beaten Hertfordshire and Suffolk.
So far it has been the spinners who have done most of the damage for Carl Rogers’ side. Walker has taken six wickets and has formed a spin partnership with Chris Brown which could prove crucial for Norfolk this year. “It’s always good having more than one spinner in the side,” said Walker. “It’s something we have done at Swardeston, where we have generally bowled a lot of spin and we have done pretty well.
“I like to get through my overs quickly and when there is a spinner at the other end you don’t have to wait long for the next over.
“It’s always nice when someone is putting pressure on at the other end because as the pressure builds up, wickets can fall, sometimes quite quickly.”
Left arm spinner Walker, who played first class cricket for Leicestershire, took three for 22 against Hertfordshire, before claiming three for 80 from 10 overs in the win over Suffolk last weekend.
“It’s been nice to get a few wickets, although I was a bit expensive in the second game,” he admitted. “I had to bowl at the end of their innings but I still probably shouldn’t have gone for that many.”
Norfolk are well placed to qualify for the quarter-finals – the top two go through from each group – and Walker has enjoyed his return to county colours: “It’s a good set-up, the pre-season tour to Holland went well and all the lads get on well,” he said. “We’ve had two good wins on very contrasting pitches – a slow one at Horsford and then a hard, flat wicket at Woodbridge – and it’s important in this competition to get up and running and make a good start, which we have done.”
Norfolk: C Amos, CJ Rogers (capt), JM Spelman, JC Mickleburgh, CR Borrett, SK Gray (wk), C Brown, GW Walker, MW Thomas, AJM Todd, MP Eccles.
Staffordshire: PJ Wilshaw, BG Sims, GT Cairns, S Seadon, RP Harvey, MA Skeikh, PSJ Goodwin, C Barker, GR Willott, GD Morris, WRJ Purser.
Article courtesy of the Eastern Daily Press
