Glamorgan have continued their winter restructuring by naming former captain Mark Wallace as the club's new director of cricket. Wallace, 37, succeeds Hugh Morris in the role, after Morris opted to step down and focus on his responsibilities as chief executive.
Wallace spent 18 years as a player at Glamorgan, captaining the side between 2013 and 2015, before moving to work with the Professional Cricketers' Association after his retirement in 2017. He is a former chairman of the PCA, as well as a Level 4-qualified coach.
"I'm delighted to have been given the opportunity to come back to Glamorgan and I'm looking forward to working with a young squad of players and alongside a talented coaching team," Wallace said.
"However, it won't just be a question of working closely with the first team. We need to ensure we maximise all our resources and that means improving Welsh cricket in general and developing closer relationships with the clubs and Cardiff MCCU.
"I'm extremely grateful to the PCA for everything they've done for me and the past two years has been a brilliant learning experience within a high quality organisation. Having spent a few years outside of Glamorgan, I believe I can come into the club with new ideas and a fresh perspective to lead the club in the right direction."
Glamorgan endured a testing 2018 season, finishing bottom of Division Two of the County Championship and failing to progress beyond the group stage in either the Royal London Cup or the Vitality Blast. Following an external review, Morris' role was split and the incumbent coach, Robert Croft, sacked; last month, Matthew Maynard, another former club stalwart, was appointed interim head coach.
Wallace was described as the "standout candidate" for the director of cricket job by Glamorgan chairman, Gareth Williams, who backed him to revive the fortunes of the Welsh county.
"We were looking for someone who could lead cricket activities, recruitment, contracts, players and our development programmes, and also work closely with local clubs and universities and he ticked all those boxes," Williams said.
"He has an in-depth knowledge of both the club and professional game in Wales and the culture within Glamorgan having spent years here as a player and captain. Through his work with the PCA he has gained experience outside Glamorgan and developed positive relationships with players and coaches across the country.
"He is a fantastic communicator as shown by his time here as captain and his broadcast work and he is a passionate Welshman who has always had the best interests of the club at heart. We're very confident he will drive Glamorgan forward and help bring success to the club both on and off the pitch."