St John’s, Antigua – West Indies Cricket Board President Dr. Julian Hunte has sent condolences to the widow and children of Frank Thomas.
Thomas, a stalwart of Windward Islands and West Indies cricket, died at the age of 86 in St Vincent.
He leaves to mourn his widow Annelle Thomas and their three children – Alana, Bernard and Alison.
"Frankie Thomas was a soft spoken gentleman but a leading figure in Windward Islands cricket, he worked tirelessly to ensure that the Windward Islands featured prominently in West Indies cricket and he leaves a rich legacy for us to build on," said Dr Hunte.
Thomas, who was born in Barbados, piloted the effort to establish the Arnos Vale Sports Complex – St Vincent’s only international cricket venue – and served West Indies cricket in numerous capacities including West Indies Team Manager (1977) and Selector (1968 to 1974).
Thomas moved to St Vincent in 1946 and worked as a civil servant. He was Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Communications and Works, Cabinet Secretary and a Chief Personnel Officer.
Thomas, a medium pace all rounder who played one First Class match for Barbados, captained Windward Islands versus the MCC in 1954, captained St Vincent and was Vice Captain of the Windward and Leeward Islands versus Guyana in 1948.
In one of his many administrative capacities, Thomas was also an Alternate Representative of the Windward Islands Cricket Board of Control on the West Indies Cricket Board of Control from 1956 to 1974 and was Assistant Manager of the West Indies Team on the tour of the United Kingdom in 1976.
The Frank Thomas Pavilion at the Arnos Vale Sports Complex was named in his honour in 1994 and he was awarded the OBE for services to St Vincent & The Grenadines.
The West Indies A and Pakistan A teams will observe a minute’s silence at the start of play on Thursday at Arnos Vale in memory of Thomas.