Alfonso Thomas appointed WI bowling coach

Former South Africa seamer Alfonso Thomas has been appointed bowling coach of West Indies on Wednesday. The 43-year-old Thomas — a death bowling specialist in limited-overs cricket — played only one T20I for the Proteas, but he shot to fame in county cricket at Somerset.

He also went on to play in the Indian Premier League, Big Bash League and Bangladesh Premier League.

They also roped in former leggie Rawl Lewis as team manager. The veteran worked as the operations manager during the Windies’ successful World T20 campaign in India two years ago.

The Windies will participate in the World Cup qualifier next month in Zimbabwe. Superstar batsman Chris Gayle is a part of the squad, along with veteran Marlon Samuels. The other notable names include skipper Jason Holder and speedster Kemar Roach.

But there will be enough spotlight on the fresh bunch of cricketers like Shai Hope and Carlos Brathwaite — the World T20 hero.