The England and Wales Cricket Board today announced the appointment of former Glamorgan all-rounder Alex Wharf to the First-Class Umpires' Full List for the 2014 season.
Alex, along with former Lancashire batsman Graham Lloyd, has been added to the ECB's full list following the retirement of Trevor Jesty at the end of the 2013 season, plus Richard Illingworth's promotion to the ICC's Elite Panel of umpires earlier in the season.
Alex first played for Yorkshire in 1994, before joining Nottinghamshire in 1997. He then joined Glamorgan in 2000 and marked his debut for the Welsh county with an unbeaten hundred against Oxford University. He duly proved to be a very shrewd signing as he became an integral member of the Glamorgan side which won one-day honours in the course of the next four years, besides appearing at Finals Day of the Twenty20 competition in 2004.
His impressive performances with bat and ball, allied to his agile fielding, lead to his inclusion in the England one-day side in September 2004 for their series with India. He subsequently appeared in thirteen One-Day Internationals for England besides touring Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. Alex retired from first-class cricket at the end of the 2009 season and has been umpiring for the past four seasons.
In confirming these appointments, ECB Chief Executive David Collier said: "We are delighted to welcome Alex and Graham onto the Full List for 2014. These promotions are richly deserved and reflect the quality of Alex and Graham's performances in last season's domestic competitions and their high levels of commitment and professionalism overall."
