Thomas, who performed rugby union professionally, was beforehand efficiency director at British Gymnastics for 5 years, and oversaw the game’s push for medals on the Tokyo Olympics.
Warwickshire’s chief government, Stuart Cain, mentioned that Thomas’ experience can be utilised to “create one thing particular” on the membership.
“James is recognised in excessive efficiency sport as an actual expertise and has demonstrated capacity to cross sports activities and shortly grasp what’s essential so as to ship success,” Cain mentioned.
“We needed somebody with actual strategic expertise of making world-class, profitable efficiency environments. He is carried out that in soccer, arguably one of many hardest efficiency environments in world sport, and been equally profitable with particular person athletes in high-pressure Olympic sports activities.
“He is proved that he can transfer in to a brand new sport and shortly create a profitable efficiency surroundings that results in medals and trophies by creating the services and buildings wanted to create world-class gamers and groups.
“The cricket management staff has greater than 200 years of technical cricket expertise and 75 years’ expertise of being a Bear. Combining this with James’ experience will create one thing particular.
“He is aware of the best way to construct groups in addition to people that may deal with high-pressure conditions and ship success. This was one of many areas of enchancment recognized within the current excessive efficiency evaluation.
“Having labored globally, he additionally understands the affect of different leagues on home buildings, one thing we actually have to get our head round as franchise cricket develops.
“The evaluation additionally demonstrated our have to modernise the best way we recruit and put together for video games with better use of information and evaluation. James has some actually attention-grabbing concepts and loads of expertise on this house which can assist us construct extra accountability and construction in to how we herald and develop gamers, in addition to create profitable groups.
“He is additionally used to working with a number of coaches working throughout totally different disciplines in males’s and ladies’s sport. One other essential consideration as he can be accountable for achievement throughout three totally different groups taking part in 4 totally different codecs of the sport.
“I believe James’ want to turn out to be a Bear illustrates how the world of cricket is altering and professionalising as a world sport to rival soccer.”
Though Thomas doesn’t make the change to Edgbaston till the summer season, Warwickshire mentioned he would spend time with the lads’s and ladies’s squads in pre-season “in addition to different main names from the world of cricket” to arrange him for the function.
Thomas mentioned: “I’m delighted to tackle the function of efficiency director at Warwickshire County Cricket Membership. All through the recruitment course of I used to be impressed by the membership’s want to retain and rejoice its proud Bears tradition, while embracing the chance to evolve and construct a high-performance surroundings that is able to reaching sustained, long run success.
“I’m excited to fulfill the gamers, coaches and wider workers, as we glance to work collectively to realize extraordinary cricket performances sooner or later.”
