Warwickshire County Cricket Club has appointed James Thomas, currently director of performance services at Manchester City, as their new performance director, starting in June. He succeeds Gavin Larsen and will oversee the men’s, women’s, and Birmingham Phoenix teams. Thomas previously served as performance director at British Gymnastics, aiding their Olympic medal pursuits. His appointment follows a high-performance review leading to the departure of head coach Mark Robinson. Warwickshire’s CEO, Stuart Cain, emphasized Thomas’s strategic experience in creating successful performance environments. Thomas expressed enthusiasm about evolving the club’s culture and achieving extraordinary cricket performances alongside players and staff.
Previously a professional rugby union player, Thomas held the position of performance director at British Gymnastics for five years, where he was instrumental in the sport’s quest for medals during the Tokyo Olympics.
Stuart Cain, the chief executive of Warwickshire, expressed that Thomas’ expertise would be leveraged to “build something remarkable” at the club.
“James is acknowledged in high-performance sports as a genuine talent, showcasing his ability to navigate across different sports and quickly understand the essentials required for success,” stated Cain.
“We sought an individual with substantial strategic experience in crafting world-class performance environments. He has achieved this in football, arguably one of the most challenging performance environments globally, while also finding success with individual athletes in the pressure-cooker world of the Olympics.
“He has proven that he can adapt to a new sport and swiftly establish a winning performance culture, capable of securing medals and trophies by developing the necessary facilities and frameworks for producing world-class players and teams.
“The cricket leadership team brings over 200 years of cricketing expertise and 75 years of experience as Bears. Merging this with James’ knowledge promises to create something exceptional.
“He is adept at building teams and individuals that thrive under pressure and achieve success, which was highlighted as an area for improvement in the recent high-performance review.
“Having worked on a global scale, he understands how other leagues impact domestic frameworks, an insight we need as franchise cricket evolves.
“The review also highlighted the necessity to modernise our recruitment and game preparation processes, with a greater emphasis on data and analysis. James brings intriguing ideas and considerable experience in this domain, which will aid us in establishing more accountability and structure in our player development and team-building efforts.
“He is accustomed to collaborating with multiple coaches across various disciplines in both men’s and women’s sports—an essential factor, as he will oversee three teams competing in four distinct formats of the game.
“James’ interest in becoming a Bear reflects the ongoing evolution and professionalisation of cricket, positioning it to compete with football as a global sport.”
While Thomas will officially join Edgbaston in the summer, Warwickshire stated he would engage with both the men’s and women’s squads during pre-season, alongside other prominent figures from the cricket world, to adequately prepare for his new role.
Thomas remarked: “I am thrilled to accept the role of performance director at Warwickshire County Cricket Club. Throughout the recruitment process, I was impressed by the club’s commitment to preserving and celebrating its proud Bears culture while also seizing the opportunity to evolve and create a high-performance environment that can achieve sustainable, long-term success.
“I look forward to meeting the players, coaches, and broader staff as we aim to work collaboratively towards extraordinary cricket performances in the future.”