Mark Wallace: Glamorgan wicketkeeper retires from cricket

During 2008, Mark Wallace played a handful of matches for Port Talbot Town in the South Wales Cricket Association

Glamorgan wicketkeeper Mark Wallace has announced his retirement from cricket with immediate effect.

Wallace, 35, spent 18 years in the first team and captained them from 2013 to 2015, playing 264 first class games.

He became the first wicketkeeper for the Welsh county to amass more than 1,000 first-class runs in a season.

"I've been extremely fortunate to have been able to represent the club for so long and I walk away with a heavy heart," Wallace said.

The Abergavenny product made his Glamorgan debut in 1999 against Somerset at Taunton, and at 17 years and 287 days, became the club's youngest wicketkeeper in a county championship match.

During his county career, Wallace helped Glamorgan to the National League one-day title in 2004.

In 2012, Wallace passed Eifion Jones' club record for the highest aggregate of runs by a specialist wicketkeeper and passed the landmark of 10,000 first-class cricket runs three years later.

Wallace, who also represented England Under-19s, completed a sequence of 230 consecutive championship appearances for the Welsh county over a 14-year period between 2001 and 2015.

• "I can't carry on playing forever" - Mark Wallace on retirement

"I'm hugely thankful to the club for the opportunities they've given me," said Wallace.

"I would like to thank the supporters for enduring some of my performances and to my family and friends for their unwavering support."

Wallace signed a contract extension last year to take him to the end of the 2017 summer but has chosen to hang up his gloves a year early.

After being elected as the Professional Cricketers Association (PCA) chairman in December 2012, Wallace will take up a permanent position with the organisation as a Player Development Manager supporting cricketers in the South West and Wales.

"I'm delighted to be able to start the next chapter of my life," he added.

Glamorgan chief executive Hugh Morris praised Wallace's impact at the county.

"Mark has been an integral part of Glamorgan for almost two decades," said Morris.

"He will be long remembered for his skill with bat and gloves, his leadership qualities, as a role model in the dressing room and as an ambassador for the club.

"Mark can look back on an outstanding professional career with great pride and it is excellent news that he will continue to contribute to the game of cricket in his new role at the PCA."