West Indies legend Courtney Walsh has cautioned up and coming fast bowler Oshane Thomas that being in top physical shape is a key component to success on the international cricket stage.

Thomas burst on the scene during the 2017 Caribbean Premier League (CPL), where the fast bowler regularly clocked over 90 miles per hour.  That kind of promise quickly landed the 23-year-old straight into the senior Windies set-up, where he has so far played 20 ODIs and 12 Twenty20 Internationals.

Things have, however, not been going smoothly for the player since then with bouts of indifferent form leading to a less impressive showing in subsequent seasons of the CPL.  In 2018, Thomas finished with the second most wickets on 18, but the following season had just 9 and none in the 2020 edition, where he had limited playing time.  Some believe the 23-year-old’s dip in form has coincided with some amount of weight gain.  The player is indeed seemingly several pounds heavier than when he burst onto the scene three years ago.

“I think he has a lot of work to do.  He has to get himself back in shape,” Walsh told the Mason and Guest radio program.

 "He has the raw ability, talent, and pace but he has to reign himself back in and I had a very serious talk with him. If he wants his career to take off and be consistent, then he has to get himself back in shape, in fighting condition,” he added.

“That's one of the challenges that we had.  A lot of people probably don’t know that behind the scenes we had to do things to stay at the top of our game.  If it means running that extra lap, probably that extra bit of bowling in the nets or going to the gym.  Whatever it takes for you to be able to maintain that fighting weight and good body fitness for longevity.”