Alex Wharf had his first taste of county cricket with Yorkshire in 1994. As a youngster, Wharf was a member of the Yorkshire Academy, but found his first-team opportunities restricted, and joined Nottinghamshire in 1997. In his opening match for their 2nd XI, he confirmed his abilities as a batsman with an unbeaten century. Despite several useful performances, Wharf was released by Nottinghamshire in 1999, and moved to Glamorgan. He proved to be a very shrewd signing, and deservedly won his county cap towards the end of the 2000 season. He marked his Glamorgan debut with a hundred against Oxford University, and his 101 not out against Northants was a vital ingredient in Glamorgan's 144-run victory. That same season he picked up 37 wickets, including a career-best 5 for 68, at an average of just over 25, and would have taken even more had he not been hampered by injury. He also bowled several important spells in one-day games, most notably in the Benson & Hedges Cup semi-final against Surrey, and was chosen as Glamorgan's Young Player of the Year. A persistent heel injury restricted his appearances for a while, but after successful seasons in 2003 and 2004, Wharf was called up to the England one-day side - and made an immediate mark against India at Trent Bridge, taking the wicket of Sourav Ganguly with his fifth ball and striking twice more in an impressive opening spell. After this Wharf faded from the international scene due to a combination of injuries, loss of form and not being good enough. He toured the West Indies with England A in 2005-06 but had a poor domestic season and faded from the scene before a long-standing knee injury forced him to retire at the end of the 2009 season.
CricInfo Staff