When he retired Paul Thomas had taken 687 wickets for Penrith, the Club’s highest wicket-taker. We can add to that: took five-wickets-in-an-innings 28 times. But, these are just a beautiful set of numbers. It’s the character of the cricketer, and the patient manner in which he negotiated his career path, that makes ‘Thommo’ an ideal role model for aspiring young cricketers, especially spin bowlers. It was a pathway with the occasional bump. As a young boy he idolised the left-arm swing bowling of the great Australian all-rounder Gary Gilmour, and bowled it for St Dominics. “There was not a lot of power in my slight frame and Bob and I soon realised there was no future in it.”
