David Thomas, the former Surrey all-rounder, who started as a teenager with Beaconsfield CC and was once selected to play for England, died last Friday after a long illness at the age of 53.

The current Surrey team wore black armbands as a mark of respect on the second & third days of the LV County Championship match against Warwickshire at Edgbaston.

A left-arm fast bowler and aggressive left-hand batsman, played for Surrey from 1977 to 1987. During that time, he was man of the match in the 1982 NatWest Trophy final against Warwickshire at Lord's, which Surrey won by nine wickets. He was also an attacking lower order batsman who was good enough to score two first-class centuries in the 1983 season against Nottinghamshire at The Oval, and Sussex at Hove.

In 1983 he was named in England's 12 for the Trent Bridge Test against New Zealand where he took 50 wickets twice in a season; an impressive feat that he repeated the following summer.

David played first-class cricket in South Africa for Natal and Northern Transvaal, and had a season with Gloucestershire in 1988 before he announced his retirement from first-class cricket. He briefly returned to play club cricket at Beaconsfield before illness prevented him playing any more.

During his first-class career he scored 3,044 runs (average 20.02), with two centuries, and took 336 at 33.97, with a best return of 6-36. He also scored 1,556 runs and took 142 one-day wickets. A larger than life character, Thomas, 53, was a hugely popular figure at Surrey – both on the pitch and off the field as a member of Surrey’s general committee and chairman of the Surrey Old Players Association (SOPA).

Universally known as ‘Teddy’, he ran a sports hospitality business, and lived latterly in Wooburn Green & High Wycombe, Bucks.

He leaves a widow Louise and four children, one of whom, his eldest Chris, is a member of the current Beaconsfield first XI.

David’s funeral will be held at 11am on 15th August 2012 at St Michaels and All Angels Parish Church, Hughenden Valley, Buckinghamshire, HP14 4LA. Flowers are welcome and the family has requested donations to be made to MSRC and/or the PCA Benevolent Fund.

http://thepca.co.uk/5697.html

http://www.bucksccc.org.uk/

http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/player/21667.html

http://www.espncricinfo.com/england/content/current/story/574569.html