Once a Bear, Always a Bear: James Tomson

In the latest instalment of the 'Once a Bear, Always a Bear' series, we had the pleasure of catching up with James Tomson - Warwickshire's lead analyst during the unforgettable summer of 2021 - to discuss his early cricketing memories at Tamworth CC, the highlights from his time as an analyst at Edgbaston as well as his lifelong passion of all things snow-sport and cricket coaching.

Here's what he had to say:

So James, what are your earliest memories of cricket, either playing or watching the great game?

I think the earliest recollection of cricket I have is the 2005 Ashes, when Dad was keeping up with the scores and watching the game pretty much daily during that series. That led to me playing cricket in the back garden at my grandparents house with my father and his 2 brothers, aka my uncles. One of my uncles was the 2nd XI captain at Tamworth CC at the time, and he was the one who first introduced me to club cricket life at Tamworth. I ended up joining the club when I was around 8 years old and started playing junior cricket there from that point onwards.

And who would you say inspired you the most to keep enjoying cricket in those formative years?

Yeah as I mentioned before, I think my dad and my uncle were the first big inspirations to ignite the love I have for the game. The passion they held for the game was truly handed down to me and them getting me involved in club cricket and playing junior cricket at Tamworth CC is a big reason I am still involved in the game.

In terms of my own time at Tamworth CC, I began receiving coaching from a gentleman named John Manuel, whose coaching CV is outstanding. He was the first ‘non-pro’ to ever complete a level 3 coaching certificate, and he ended up coaching the Midlands spin bowlers at the Bunbury festival for years, as well as coaching the academy at Staffordshire Cricket for several years.

He began the Tamworth CC junior section that I was a part of and also started out an EPP programme at Tamworth that I got involved with. It was really John, in a structured cricket setting, who was my biggest inspiration in terms of the passion for the game, as well as getting into the coaching side of the game. Without John’s influence and guidance, I would not be where I am in this wonderful game.

Have you always been involved solely with Tamworth or have you ever played for any other local teams here in the Midlands over the years?

As a teenager, I was fortunate enough to represent Staffordshire, and also represented the University of Gloucestershire for a few years whilst I was studying there, but at the club level, I've only ever represented Tamworth. As we spoke about before, I played all of my junior cricket at Tamworth CC and still play for the club now whenever I have the time. Tamworth is a special club where, even nowadays, there are several players in the Birmingham League 1st XI that came through the junior ranks at the club.

In addition to your playing journey at Tamworth CC Tommo, it's only right that we speak about your venture into coaching and analysis too. It's the obvious place to start, but why did you choose to go into those respective career paths in the first place?

I think coaching and analysis was always going to be a career path I fell into. Helping others succeed has always been something that I've thoroughly enjoyed and when I reflect on my time at school, there were plenty of times where I was explaining to others how I'd created something, or just explaining something that I completely understood and then trying to help them understand the task that we were set.

Going back to John Manuel, it was his expectation that players on the Tamworth EPP (the EPP was for 12-18 year olds) would complete their coaching certificate at the earliest available opportunity. For me, this was when I was 16 – I became a level 2 qualified coach and began working with the younger juniors at the club. However, even before I was a qualified coach, I would help out at junior training and junior matchdays with the U10/U11 cricketers. With it being something that I was expected to do, coaching became a natural part of my personality and something that I loved doing.

From those days at Tamworth, I went on to study sport and exercise science at university and in my second year, there were different modules that we had to choose from in order to complete the academic year. Performance analysis was a module that immediately caught my eye, alongside a sports coaching module to learn about pedagogy and how we communicate information when we are trying to teach others. I enjoyed these modules incredibly, which led to me to continuing them into my third year of study, where I also made the decision that I would try to take them even further.

A work placement wasn't part of my degree, but I used LinkedIn to message the analyst at Warwickshire - Stuart Key - and ask if there were opportunities. He asked for my CV and then invited me in for an informal chat. One thing led to the next and I found myself as an analyst intern at Warwickshire helping Stuart and his live coding of 1st XI T20 and ODC games, as well as coding 2XI cricket.

Before we talk about that opportunity with the Bears in more detail, what's your favourite aspect of being a cricket analyst?

It sounds cliché, but for me, the best bit of my job is finding the small insights in opposition preparation that can really impact a team strategy and create a performance advantage. Of course, the friendships formed in a team environment are always special, but profiling opposition teams and finding a tactical advantage that my friends can exploit on the field is always a special feeling when they come to life during a game.

Fair enough, it's an important facet in the modern game too, just look at how many resources get invested into analysis on the T20 circuit! Going back to that story of your first interaction with the Bears though James, what can you tell us about your early days at Edgbaston?

Yeah we've already touched upon this a bit before, but only up to the point where I began working as an intern to Stuart Key in the summer of 2018. I absolutely loved the opportunity Stuart gave me, and I do owe a lot of my career to Stuart’s guidance and teaching. I was lucky enough to continue into 2019 with Stuart, and was offered a summer contract role at Warwickshire in February 2020 to assist Stu with the analyst duties at Warwickshire whilst he joined the Birmingham Phoenix for The Hundred. I actually took that phone call at the bottom of a lift station in Austria, having just finished teaching skiing for the day!

However, we all know what happened in March 2020... everyone had to stay indoors.

During lockdown, Stuart left Warwickshire – thus leaving the bears without an analyst. I was then asked to cover until the end of the season, with my contract ending in October. I still felt a little like an intern, so continued to go in throughout the window to update analytical softwares and ensure that everything was in place for the next season – even if I wasn’t to be involved. Paul Farbrace was the DOC (Director of Cricket) at the time, and in March he offered me another summer contract at Warwickshire – not on an interim basis this time, but as the lead analyst. I took the opportunity with both hands and am truly thankful for the opportunity.

Again, given what happened during the Summer of 2021, I have a feeling that I might know the answer to this next question, but what would you say was the highlight from your time with Warwickshire?

Yeah, the day when we won the Championship was special. The celebrations after the win against Somerset were incredible, and a particular moment that stands out for me was Adam Hose speaking in the dressing room with the trophy and inviting me up to take a drink from it, thanking me for the work that I had done in the season. That's a memory for me that will never leave, and something I reflect on very dearly.

It's my role as an analyst to provide for players, and prep/profile teams and players so they are able to play to their strengths and know what to expect. To have the playing group value the work produced is the biggest indicator of how much value we offer as analysts – so that was certainly a highlight when looking back.

I also look back fondly on the win at Trent Bridge earlier on in the same season. I remember Tim Bresnan using a flip chart to tick off runs 10 at a time – with 33 cups lined up next to it. Each 10 runs was a cup, and every 10 runs a cup would be flung off the table. Chasing down 333 in the last innings was a remarkable feat, and I fondly recall the celebrations in the dressing room after.

However, the biggest highlight for me was the friendships I made during my spell at Edgbaston. Not just with the playing group or coaches, but the office staff too. There was a real family feel during that 2021 season at Warwickshire, and I often think back to that year and acknowledge that I wouldn't be where I am today without the learning, guidance and help from everyone at Warwickshire that season.

And since those unforgettable days at Edgbaston in 2021, what have you been up to in the years that have followed?

I'm still heavily involved in the professional game, but I live in Canterbury now after becoming the lead performance analyst here at Kent Cricket. I still travel home when I can to play for Tamworth CC, and also head to Andorra when I can in the winter to teach people how to ski!

Outside of the game, do you have any interests that let you switch off from cricket and the world of analysis?

Although it's still work, snowsport is a huge aspect of my life. Teaching people how to ski, and training people to become ski instructors is something that I'm very passionate about, and again I owe that life to the uncle that got me into cricket. He taught me how to ski when I was two years old, and had me ski racing by the time I was seven. I would go to Tamworth SnowDome on a Wednesday evening to race train, and compete in ski races there when I was young. I grew up skiing alongside others my age, and am very lucky that those same guys are still involved in snowsport, and I get to teach people how to ski with them now and then!

That's an incredible hobby! Have you got any other interesting facts about yourself outside of snowsport?

Other than being a ski instructor, the only other interesting thing I can think of is that I used to be heavily involved in music. I used to play the trumpet until the age of 19, and was involved in multiple theatre productions where I was in the pit orchestra for shows. Playing the music for Les Miserables was a big highlight, and was certainly a fun production to be involved in, as well as Grease.

And finally, it's a pretty big question to finish up with Tommo, but what would you say has been the proudest achievement of your life up until this point?

In a cricketing sense, winning the county championship is certainly up there. Then in a wider setting, I would suggest achieving my BASI Level 3 ISIA award is also up there – it means I am a globally recognised standard of ski teacher, and it's an award that only a small number of British skiers and/or snowboarders hold.

Finally, in an academic sense, graduating from the University of Gloucestershire with a 2:1 in a masters degree of applied sports performance analysis is something that I will always look back on fondly.