George Thoms

Who was George Thoms?

George Ronald Thoms OAM was an Australian cricketer who played in one Test in 1952. He played 18 first-class matches for Victoria, one in 1946, and then more regularly from 1951–52 to 1953–54.

Born in Footscray, Victoria, Thoms attended Melbourne University, where he opened the batting with Colin McDonald. He also played first-class cricket for Victoria alongside McDonald, and they both made their Test debut in the fifth Test against West Indies at the Sydney Cricket Ground in January 1952, alongside fellow debutant Richie Benaud. Uniquely, Thoms and McDonald opened the batting together for a Test team, state team, and club team in that season. A solid, rather than spectacular, batsman, he scored 16 and 28. Thoms was dismissed hit wicket in the second innings, treading on the stumps after pulling a Frank Worrell delivery for four.

Johnnie Moyes, a pre-eminent cricket historian, wrote hyperbolically of this modest beginning: "He was a player of negative qualities, and one gained the impression that a competent leader could close him down to an occasional single for hours at a time, not the type of batsman for whom there could be any international future.