Ian Thomas Inducted into Hall of Fame

Ian Thomas became the 17th member of the NSWCUSA Hall of Fame at the Association’s Annual General Meeting at Club York in Sydney on Wednesday night.

Bathurst-based, Thomas has provided the Association with exceptional service since joining as a member in 1980 – his contribution to the Association was recognised when he was upgraded to Life membership in 2000.

Ian Thomas receives his Hall of Fame plaque from Darren Goodger

In inducting Thomas to the Hall of Fame, Life member Darren Goodger praised the impact Thomas has had during his time, “Ian’s service as an on field official to the NSWCUSA was exemplary, his service to the Association off field was substantial while he was an active umpire and for long after he retired.

“This is an honour that is richly deserved by a loyal, dedicated and humble servant of our game.

“It is a recognition that will be so well received by cricket people in western New South Wales and by the players and umpiring colleagues of his era.”

As an umpire, Thomas performed strongly at the highest levels of the game, officiating eight men’s one day internationals, the first of which came in 1990 as England played New Zealand in a Benson & Hedges World Series match in Adelaide.

Thomas became the Association’s 60th first-class umpire when he debuted in the Sheffield Shield match between New South Wales and Victoria at the SCG in December 1987.

He umpired an additional 40 first-class matches, with 30 coming in the Sheffield Shield and others including matches between either Australia or New South Wales against touring sides including England, India, Pakistan amongst others.

In limited overs cricket he umpired 14 men’s List A matches, including the 1987-88 McDonald’s Cup Final at the SCG, which saw New South Wales defeat South Australia.

In Sydney Grade Cricket, he stood in eight Men’s First Grade grand finals, and on six occasions, received the Men’s Panel One Medal as determined by marks from captains.

By the time he finished umpiring he had stood in 226 men’s matches in the Sydney Cricket Association, including 171 in First Grade.

Off field, he has served on NSWCUSA’s Examination, Technical and Training committees, as Zone Umpire Representative for Western Zone, as Country Umpire Advisor, and as a Country Cricket NSW carnival and match referee.

With Cricket Australia, he was the NSW State Umpire Coach in 2006-07 and from 2016 to 2020, he was a member of Cricket Australia Match Referee panels.

Thomas was unanimously nominated by the Association’s Hall of Fame Sub-Committee comprising of Co-Patron and Hall of Fame member Simon Taufel, Life member Graham Chudleigh, Board Chair Mark Hughes, and former Board Chair Dr. David Dilley – their recommendation was unanimously approved by the Association’s Board.