FORMER Essequibo senior inter-county captain and CWI Level 2 coach Elroy Stephney recently reminisced on the quality of former West Indies ‘B’ Team fast bowler Rayon St Aubyn Thomas, who also represented Guyana at both the junior and senior levels.

In an exclusive interview, Stephney noted that he captained Thomas during the inter-county era and described him as one of the finest he had witnessed as a young fast bowler.
“He was very athletic, he had a smooth and rhythmic run-up and he was extremely strong in body” was Stephney’s description of the former cricketer.

“I played with and against Rayon and he was one of the most difficult bowler to face since he was menacingly quick and for the most part hit the right areas that caused batsmen to be concerned.

“I remember that devastating spell of a 7-wicket haul against Berbice at the Albion Community Centre ground in 2003 in an inter-county contest and it was quite an amazing exhibition of fast bowling from the youngster at the time. In fact, I think his figures still remain as the best by an Essequibian in inter-county cricket.

“Rayon showed promise as an Under-15 player and I remember him hitting my bat extremely hard even at such a tender age,” said Stephney, who added that he was therefore not surprised that Thomas seamlessly climbed the ladder as a professional player. “I had tremendous respect for Rayon who was very focussed on his goals at the time despite his challenges of growing up without his parents”.

Stephney recalled that it was the late Courtney Gonsalves as coach who groomed Thomas into becoming the fine talent that he was and nurtured his gradual elevation.
“I faced numerous fast bowlers in my time, but Rayon stood out since I would honestly concur that he was naturally gifted and he exerted less energy, yet the ball was always in your face” reminisced Stephney who would later name the fearsome fast bowler in Essequibo’s all-time best XI.

Thomas, born on October 22, 1981 hailed from Suddie on the Essequibo Coast and, represented Imam Bacchus Sports Club of Affiance. He later migrated to Georgetown where he represented the famous Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) and Aranquez Sports Club of Trinidad and Tobago.

While Rayon Thomas did not represent the West Indies senior team, Stephney opined that it was unfortunate that he didn’t get such a break since he had all the qualities as an emerging fast bowler with age on his side.