Alfonso Thomas: "I Already Love Hampshire"

First-Team Assistant Coach Alfonso Thomas has settled into life at the The Ageas Bowl and already feels very much part of the Hampshire family.

Thomas, the former South Africa seamer who enjoyed a 17-year playing career, including eight years with Somerset, moved into coaching following his retirement, holding roles with Kent, Surrey, Khulna Titans and the West Indies before joining Hampshire in January.

And the 42-year-old relished being a part of the club’s coaching staff in his first season, often drawing on his playing experience, including from encounters with some of the more experienced members of the Hampshire squad.

“I got the phone call around about December, and although I had an offer from another county to consider too, Hampshire were absolutely my first choice.

“It’s a great place to come and work, I already love it here and to have the The Ageas Bowl as your office, it’s like the second home of cricket, for me anyway.

“Going into the role, the knowledge I already had of the group of guys we had was strong, I even played against a few of them a while back.

"There’s always plenty of banter flying around from when we used to square off back in the day - the boys are still giving me stick about the T20 final in 2010!”

Hampshire enjoyed a positive campaign overall in 2019, finishing third in the County Championship - the club’s highest finish for eight seasons - as well as securing a place in the One-Day Cup final and almost claiming a T20 quarter-final place.

Having now tasted his first season with James Vince’s squad, Thomas knows that all the makings are there for success at Hampshire in the years to come.

“My first season was mainly just trying to get to know the guys on a personal level and I feel that has gone well.

“There’s a young group of players here and when you combine that with the experience we’ve got as a group, I really feel we have the recipe to do something special.”

“Looking ahead, there are a few boys that I like to think I can make a big difference with, as well as the squad as a whole - hopefully we can push them on so they can continue to improve, experience great success as a team and have amazing careers.

“It’s going to be really exciting.”