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Mark Wallace (cricketer)

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Mark Wallace
Personal information
Full name
Mark Alexander Wallace
Born (1981-11-19) 19 November 1981 (age 42)
Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, Wales
NicknameGromit, Wally
Height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
BattingLeft-handed
RoleWicket-keeper
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1999–2017Glamorgan (squad no. 18)
FC debut2 September 1999 Glamorgan v Somerset
Last FC20 September 2016 Glamorgan v Leicestershire
LA debut6 September 1999 Glamorgan v Somerset
Last LA1 August 2016 Glamorgan v Surrey
Career statistics
Competition FC LA T20
Matches 264 205 136
Runs scored 11,159 2,736 1,534
Batting average 28.90 20.41 18.48
100s/50s 15/55 2/7 0/2
Top score 139 118* 69*
Catches/stumpings 707/56 184/45 53/30
Source: CricketArchive, 16 February 2017

Mark Alexander Wallace (born 19 November 1981) is a former Welsh cricketer; a left-handed batsman and wicket-keeper.

Wallace made his second XI debut for Glamorgan at the age of just 15, and by 1998 he was in the England U-19 team that played Pakistan, as well as accompanying them to New Zealand the following winter and playing three one-day games against Australia U-19s in the summer of 1999, a year in which he won the NBC Denis Compton Award.

In September 1999, he made his bow in first-class cricket, appearing in the County Championship game against Somerset at the age of 17 years and 287 days – thus making him Glamorgan's youngest ever Championship wicket-keeper. Wallace took five catches in the match, and scored 28 from number nine in the first innings, and this was enough for him to keep his county place for the rest of the season. In an innings victory over Yorkshire, he made his first half-century: 64 not out, again batting at number nine.

After appearing in the U-19 World Cup in the winter, Wallace played no first-team county cricket for the first half of the season, concentrating on his A-Levels, but in August was appointed captain of the U-19s for a one-day series against Sri Lanka, though was unable to take up his appointment because of an injury to his hand. He did, however, recover in time to replace the (also injured) Adrian Shaw for Glamorgan near the end of the season.

After another U-19 tour, this time to India, Wallace established himself during the 2001 season as his county's first-choice wicket-keeper, and was selected to visit Australia with the ECB National Academy squad, an honour he repeated the following winter. 2002 saw him make his maiden first-class century when he hit an unbeaten 106 in Glamorgan's pipe-opener against Derbyshire, albeit in a losing cause. Wallace finished 2002 with 61 dismissals in first-class and 27 in List A games, the latter helping his side to the Norwich Union League title.

The 2003 summer brought Wallace both his county cap and his greatest success with the bat, as he hit 856 first-class runs at 29.51 including 117 against Durham in August and 121 against the same opponents a month later; on the second occasion, Wallace opened the batting.

Wallace continued to be Glamorgan's first choice wicket-keeper in all forms of the game and captained the county for the first time against Somerset at Taunton on 30 August 2007. In 2008 Wallace was named the club's one-day player of the year and supporters player of the year with his most memorable performance being a match winning score of 48 off just 17 balls against Leicestershire in the Pro40 competition at Colwyn Bay.

In 2011 Wallace became the first Glamorgan wicket-keeper to ever score a thousand first-class runs in a season surpassing Jimmy Stone's record aggregate set in 1923 along the way.

Wallace is considered as Glamorgan's finest ever wicket-keeper/batsman.[citation needed] He holds the record for the most first-class centuries by a Glamorgan wicket-keeper (15) with his highest score of 139 coming in the final game of the 2009 season against Surrey at the Oval. Wallace has 2 List A centuries coming in the 2012 and 2013 seasons. Having previously held the position of vice-captain he was appointed Glamorgan captain for the 2012 season. Having previously served as a players representative Wallace was elected as Chairman of the Professional Cricketers Association in 2013.

He graduated from Staffordshire University with a degree in Professional Sports Writing and Broadcasting in the summer of 2008 and studied for a master's degree at UWIC. He has written regularly on cricket and rugby in the Welsh press.[1]

Career best performances

[edit]

Updated 9 November 2012

Batting
Score Fixture Venue Season
FC 139 Glamorgan v Surrey The Oval 2009
LA 118* Glamorgan v Gloucestershire Gladiators Cardiff 2013
T20 69* Glamorgan v Warwickshire Bears Rugby 2013

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Graduation Pride for PFA Sports Journalists". Archived from the original on 31 December 2008. Retrieved 21 September 2009.
[edit]
Sporting positions
Preceded by Chairman of the Professional Cricketers' Association
2013–2017
Succeeded by
Preceded by Glamorgan Director of Cricket
2018 to date
Succeeded by