Mark Wallace
Encyclopedia
Mark Alexander Wallace (born 19 November 1981, Abergavenny
, Monmouthshire
, Wales
) is a 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 has 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 clubs 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. He holds the record for the most first-class centuries by a Glamorgan wicket-keeper (11) with his highest score of 139 coming in the final game of the 2009 season against Surrey at the Oval.
Having previously held the position of vice-captain it was announced that Wallace would succeed Alviro Petersen as Glamorgan captain for 2012.
During 2008, Wallace played a handful of matches for Port Talbot Town in the South Wales Cricket Association when his Glamorgan
commitments permitted, although he did not keep wicket in these games. This saw him link up again with former county colleagues Ian Thomas
and Dan Cherry
. He marked his debut in fine style making a match winning century at Llanelli, bringing up three figures with a six which also sealed a nine wicket victory. Another noted performance was his innings of 84 against a Pontarddulais
side which included his county team mate James Harris
. In all, Wallace played four matches scoring 204 runs at an average of 68.33.
2009
The left-hander continued his association with The New Mansel side into the 2009 season. After the disappointment of being dismissed by his Glamorgan colleague Robert Croft
(on route to a match winning spell of 7/19 for Pontarddulais
on 16 May), the first of three eye catching performances came at Ammanford on 20 June with an innings of 93 from only 75 balls. On 25 July, Wallace scored 116 from 126 balls with 14 fours and 3 sixes against Llangennech, an innings which was instrumental in Port Talbot's 109 runs victory. Another match winning performance followed at The Gnoll
on 15 August where Wallace smashed 88 from only 59 balls (as well as a changing room window!) to engineer an eight wicket success against Neath
. By the season's end he had scored 382 runs in six innings at an average of 63.66 and an even more impressive strike rate of 111.04.
2010
Following Port Talbot's qualification to the inaugural South Wales Premier League, it was announced that Wallace and pace bowler Chris Ashling were to be assigned as the club's two county players for the 2010 season.
On 17 July, Wallace made a club record score of 216 not out against Swansea
at The New Mansel in the South Wales Premier League. Batting at number 3, he faced just 145 balls and hit 16 fours and 13 sixes as Port Talbot rattled up their highest ever team score of 363/2 from their 50 overs. Mark shared in an unbroken third wicket partnership of 323 with former Glamorgan colleague and club captain Dan Cherry who scored 115 not out. The partnership, a record for any wicket for Port Talbot, was made from just 223 balls in 129 minutes. Wallace's 216 not out, as well as being his own career best score, was the highest made for Port Talbot Town in any competitive match surpassing the 208 by Alan Bushnell in a second team match against BSC Port Talbot in 1985 and also Cherry's own 179 not out in a first team match at Dafen
in 2006. Port Talbot went on to secure a winning draw in the match as Swansea replied with 238/7.
At Ynysygerwn on 14 August, Wallace again gave a remarkable exhibition of hitting by scoring 105 from only 58 balls. The innings included seven fours and eight sixes and helped secure an eight wicket win for Port Talbot. In only 5 innings, Wallace finished the campaign with an astonishing 388 runs at an average of 97 with the strike rate an even more remarkable 136.61.
2011
After scoring 68 in an opening day victory at Cardiff
on 30 April, Wallace was once again in belligerent form against Ammanford on 14 May at The New Mansel making an unbeaten 103 from 89 balls in a nine wicket win. During the innings, Wallace shared in an unbroken second wicket stand of 155 with Glamorgan colleague Chris Cooke.
with a degree in Professional Sports Writing and Broadcasting in the summer of 2008 and is currently studying for a Masters degree at UWIC. He has written regularly on cricket and rugby in the Welsh press
Abergavenny
Abergavenny , meaning Mouth of the River Gavenny, is a market town in Monmouthshire, Wales. It is located 15 miles west of Monmouth on the A40 and A465 roads, 6 miles from the English border. Originally the site of a Roman fort, Gobannium, it became a medieval walled town within the Welsh Marches...
, Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire is a county in south east Wales. The name derives from the historic county of Monmouthshire which covered a much larger area. The largest town is Abergavenny. There are many castles in Monmouthshire .-Historic county:...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
) is a Welsh
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
cricketer
Cricketer
A cricketer is a person who plays the sport of cricket. Official and long-established cricket publications prefer the traditional word "cricketer" over the rarely used term "cricket player"....
; a left-handed batsman and wicket-keeper
Wicket-keeper
The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being guarded by the batsman currently on strike...
.
Wallace made his second XI debut for Glamorgan
Glamorgan County Cricket Club
Glamorgan County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Glamorgan aka Glamorganshire . Glamorgan CCC is the only Welsh first-class cricket club. Glamorgan CCC have won the English County...
at the age of just 15, and by 1998
1998 English cricket season
In the 1998 English cricket season Leicestershire won the championship for the second time in three seasons while Lancashire performed the one day double.-Honours:*County Championship - Leicestershire*NatWest Trophy - Lancashire...
he was in the England U-19 team that played Pakistan
Pakistan Under-19 cricket team
Pakistan Under-19 cricket team are twice Cricket World Champions at the under-19 level. Their second win made them the first and to date only back to back champions.-Pakistan U-19 Squad:* Azeem Ghumman* Sarmad Bhatti...
, as well as accompanying them to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
the following winter and playing three one-day
One-day cricket
Limited overs cricket, also known as one-day cricket and in a slightly different context as List A cricket, is a version of the sport of cricket in which a match is generally completed in one day, whereas Test and first-class matches can take up to five days to complete...
games against Australia U-19s in the summer of 1999
1999 English cricket season
The 1999 English cricket season saw the Sunday League changed to a new format National League with games played midweek under floodlight.-Honours:*County Championship - Surrey*NatWest Trophy - Gloucestershire*National League - Lancashire...
, a year in which he won the NBC Denis Compton Award
NBC Denis Compton Award
The NBC Denis Compton Award is an annual award given to 'The Most Promising Young Player' at each of the 18 English first-class counties. A player may receive the award more than once.-History:...
.
In September 1999, he made his bow in first-class cricket
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
, appearing in the County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
game against Somerset
Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of 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
The result in cricket
The result in a game of cricket may be a win for one of the two teams playing, a draw or a tie. In the case of a limited overs game, the game can also end with no result...
over Yorkshire
Yorkshire County Cricket Club
Yorkshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Yorkshire as one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure....
, 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
Adrian Shaw (cricketer)
Adrian Shaw is a first-class and List A cricketer who played for Glamorgan. He was a right-handed batsman and a wicket-keeper, who played with the Glamorgan senior team for thirteen years...
for Glamorgan near the end of the season.
After another U-19 tour, this time to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Wallace established himself during the 2001 season
2001 English cricket season
The 2001 English cricket season saw Yorkshire win the County Championship for the first time since 1968. Australia again won the Ashes, this time largely due to some fine performances by Adam Gilchrist....
as his county's first-choice wicket-keeper, and was selected to visit Australia with the ECB National Academy
ECB National Academy
The National Cricket Performance Centre first came into existence in the winter of 2001-2002 and has been based at Loughborough University since 2003. In 2007 following the "Schofield Report" the National Academy was renamed The National Cricket Performance Centre. It consists of a state of the art...
squad, an honour he repeated the following winter. 2002
2002 English cricket season
The 2002 English cricket season saw 2001 county champions Yorkshire relegated. They did, however, win the C&G Trophy.-Honours:*County Championship - Surrey*C&G Trophy - Yorkshire*National League - Glamorgan*Benson & Hedges Cup -...
saw him make his maiden first-class century when he hit an unbeaten 106 in Glamorgan's pipe-opener against Derbyshire
Derbyshire County Cricket Club
Derbyshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the England and Wales domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of 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
National League (cricket)
The NatWest Pro40 League was a one-day cricket league for first-class cricket counties in England and Wales. It was inaugurated in 1999, but was essentially the old Sunday League retitled to reflect the fact that large numbers of matches were played on days other than Sunday.-Sunday League:The...
title.
The 2003 summer
2003 English cricket season
The 2003 English cricket season was notable for the long overdue first official County Championship of the oldest county club: Sussex.-Honours:*County Championship - Sussex*C&G Trophy - Gloucestershire*National League - Surrey...
brought Wallace both his county cap and his greatest success with the bat, as he hit 856 first-class runs at 29.51
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
including 117 against Durham
Durham County Cricket Club
Durham County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Durham. Its limited overs team is called the Durham Dynamos. Their kit colours are blue with yellow trim and the shirt sponsor was...
in August and 121 against the same opponents a month later; on the second occasion, Wallace opened the batting.
Wallace has 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 clubs 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. He holds the record for the most first-class centuries by a Glamorgan wicket-keeper (11) with his highest score of 139 coming in the final game of the 2009 season against Surrey at the Oval.
Having previously held the position of vice-captain it was announced that Wallace would succeed Alviro Petersen as Glamorgan captain for 2012.
Club Cricket
2008During 2008, Wallace played a handful of matches for Port Talbot Town in the South Wales Cricket Association when his Glamorgan
Glamorgan County Cricket Club
Glamorgan County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Glamorgan aka Glamorganshire . Glamorgan CCC is the only Welsh first-class cricket club. Glamorgan CCC have won the English County...
commitments permitted, although he did not keep wicket in these games. This saw him link up again with former county colleagues Ian Thomas
Ian Thomas
Ian Thomas may refer to:* Major W. Ian Thomas , Christian speaker and author* Ian Thomas , dressmaker to Queen Elizabeth II* Ian Thomas , Canadian singer-songwriter...
and Dan Cherry
Dan Cherry
Daniel David 'Dan' Cherry is a Welsh cricketer. He is a left-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-pace bowler who played for Glamorgan and represented England up to under 17 level....
. He marked his debut in fine style making a match winning century at Llanelli, bringing up three figures with a six which also sealed a nine wicket victory. Another noted performance was his innings of 84 against a Pontarddulais
Pontarddulais
Pontarddulais is a community and town in the City and County of Swansea, Wales. It is situated north west of Swansea city centre. It falls within the Pontarddulais ward.-Overview:...
side which included his county team mate James Harris
James Harris (cricketer)
James Alexander Russell Harris is a cricketer who is on the staff of Glamorgan. An all-rounder, Harris is a right arm seam bowler and right-handed batsman. He was the youngest person ever to play for Glamorgan 2nd XI, aged 14 years and 353 days and the youngest person to have played for Wales...
. In all, Wallace played four matches scoring 204 runs at an average of 68.33.
2009
The left-hander continued his association with The New Mansel side into the 2009 season. After the disappointment of being dismissed by his Glamorgan colleague Robert Croft
Robert Croft
Robert Damien Bale Croft is a Welsh cricketer who has played international cricket for both England and Wales. He is an off-spin bowler who plays for Glamorgan and captained the county from 2003 to 2006...
(on route to a match winning spell of 7/19 for Pontarddulais
Pontarddulais
Pontarddulais is a community and town in the City and County of Swansea, Wales. It is situated north west of Swansea city centre. It falls within the Pontarddulais ward.-Overview:...
on 16 May), the first of three eye catching performances came at Ammanford on 20 June with an innings of 93 from only 75 balls. On 25 July, Wallace scored 116 from 126 balls with 14 fours and 3 sixes against Llangennech, an innings which was instrumental in Port Talbot's 109 runs victory. Another match winning performance followed at The Gnoll
The Gnoll
The Gnoll in Neath, Wales is a sports ground, with a capacity of 5,000.In July 2009, Neath RFC presented plans for the redevelopment of the Gnoll, including building a community centre on the site, which were criticised as "too woolly".-Rugby union:...
on 15 August where Wallace smashed 88 from only 59 balls (as well as a changing room window!) to engineer an eight wicket success against Neath
Neath
Neath is a town and community situated in the principal area of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, UK with a population of approximately 45,898 in 2001...
. By the season's end he had scored 382 runs in six innings at an average of 63.66 and an even more impressive strike rate of 111.04.
2010
Following Port Talbot's qualification to the inaugural South Wales Premier League, it was announced that Wallace and pace bowler Chris Ashling were to be assigned as the club's two county players for the 2010 season.
On 17 July, Wallace made a club record score of 216 not out against Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
at The New Mansel in the South Wales Premier League. Batting at number 3, he faced just 145 balls and hit 16 fours and 13 sixes as Port Talbot rattled up their highest ever team score of 363/2 from their 50 overs. Mark shared in an unbroken third wicket partnership of 323 with former Glamorgan colleague and club captain Dan Cherry who scored 115 not out. The partnership, a record for any wicket for Port Talbot, was made from just 223 balls in 129 minutes. Wallace's 216 not out, as well as being his own career best score, was the highest made for Port Talbot Town in any competitive match surpassing the 208 by Alan Bushnell in a second team match against BSC Port Talbot in 1985 and also Cherry's own 179 not out in a first team match at Dafen
Dafen
Dafen is a village situated east of Llanelli in Carmarthenshire, Wales, part of the Llanelli Rural community. Dafen borders the villages of Felinfoel, Llangennech, Bryn and Pemberton....
in 2006. Port Talbot went on to secure a winning draw in the match as Swansea replied with 238/7.
At Ynysygerwn on 14 August, Wallace again gave a remarkable exhibition of hitting by scoring 105 from only 58 balls. The innings included seven fours and eight sixes and helped secure an eight wicket win for Port Talbot. In only 5 innings, Wallace finished the campaign with an astonishing 388 runs at an average of 97 with the strike rate an even more remarkable 136.61.
2011
After scoring 68 in an opening day victory at Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
on 30 April, Wallace was once again in belligerent form against Ammanford on 14 May at The New Mansel making an unbeaten 103 from 89 balls in a nine wicket win. During the innings, Wallace shared in an unbroken second wicket stand of 155 with Glamorgan colleague Chris Cooke.
Personal life
He graduated from Staffordshire UniversityStaffordshire University
Staffordshire University is a university with its main campus based in the city of Stoke-on-Trent, and with other campuses in Stafford, Lichfield and Shrewsbury.- History :...
with a degree in Professional Sports Writing and Broadcasting in the summer of 2008 and is currently studying for a Masters degree at UWIC. He has written regularly on cricket and rugby in the Welsh press
External links
- Statistical summary from CricketArchiveCricketArchiveCricketArchive is a website that aims to provide a comprehensive archive of records relating to the sport of cricket. It claims to be the most comprehensive cricket database on the internet, including scorecards for all matches of first-class cricket , List A cricket , Women's Test cricket and...