Thomas has signed for one year as a Kolpak player

South African seamer Alfonso Thomas says the Somerset bowling attack should benefit from the extra competition for places now he has arrived in Taunton.

"It's exactly what a county like this wants. You don't want guys getting complacent," he told BBC Somerset.

"I certainly didn't come with any assurety that I will be playing. If you have five bowlers competing for four spots, it's going to be a dogfight."

But the 31-year-old is confident he can become a regular for the Cidermen.

"I haven't had it easy in my career so I'm well and truly up for a fight. I do my cricket very hard, and some might like it and some might not, but that's just the type of person that I am.

"But I also think there's a very thin line between being competitive and actually going overboard - typical South African."

"I'm sure our captain [Justin Langer] is like that. From what I've heard, he's also a very competitive captain and that's what I want to hear."