Sam Thomas was one of the old guard of South Walian cricket who played once for Glamorgan in 1890. In the case of the opening batter from Swansea CC, Sam made one appearance at county level, against Warwickshire at the Arms Park.

His first major match had been almost a quarter of a century beforehand as during May 1869, he played at The Gnoll for a Colts XXII against Glamorganshire – the proto-county team which had been formed the year before by JTD Llewelyn following a meeting at The Castle Hotel in Neath. The match was something of a showcase of the talent in the region, but Sam never won selection for the Glamorganshire team.

However, the batter did play for the South Wales CC and the Welsh Wanderers, besides appearing for Swansea in their exhibition games against the United South of England at St. Helen’s in 1876 as well as the game the following year against the All-England Eleven. Sam made a decent 25 against the United South but was dismissed for a duck by WG Grace in the second innings.

Sam continued to be a prolific run-scorer for the Swansea club during the 1880s and his free-scoring efforts the top of the order saw them record several notable victories, especially in the South Wales Challenge Cup in 1883. He was past his best when he played for Glamorgan in 1890, making 0 and 7, but Sam continued to play a role behind the scenes in assessing emerging talent and in May 1892 led a Colts XXII against Glamorgan at St. Helen’s.

His final match of note came three years later where he opened the batting for the South Wales CC when they met the county side at Swansea.

From the 1880s onwards, Sam played under the non-de-plume of ‘E Landers’. Away from cricket he worked as a commercial traveller for an oil company and was a well-known breeder of poultry, who acted as a judge in national competitions.

THOMAS, Samuel William

[Played under the nom-de-plume of “E Landers”]

Born – Swansea 1851.

Died – Swansea, 7 August 1918.

Batting and Fielding Record  

	M	I	NO	RUNS	AV	100	50	CT	ST
MC Friendly	1	2	0	7	3.50	–	–	1	–

Career-best performance  

Minor County Friendly  – 7 v Warwickshire at Cardiff Arms Park, 1890 .