Club legend Alan Jones named president of Glamorgan

Alan Jones was a key member of the Glamorgan team that won the County Championship in 1969

Former Glamorgan captain and coach Alan Jones has been named as the county's new president.

The 77-year-old Jones played for Glamorgan between 1957 and 1983, scoring a thousand first-class runs in 23 consecutive seasons.

The left-handed opener played in the 1969 Championship-winning side and led the county to their first ever limited-overs final in 1977.

He takes over from former International Cricket Council president and England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chairman David Morgan.

Jones holds the record for the most runs scored by and England-qualified player - 36,049 - without winning a Test cap.

He played for England against a Rest of the World side in 1970 in what was labelled a Test series at the time, but was later stripped of official status.

Jones was named as one of Wisden's five cricketers of the year in 1978.

After retirement as a player he spent years on the Glamorgan coaching staff and has also worked as a TV commentator for Welsh language television station S4C.

"I'm absolutely delighted, I never expected this but it is a great honour to be president of Glamorgan County Cricket Club," Jones told BBC Wales Sport.

Alan Jones scored over 1,000 first-class runs in every English cricket season from 1961 to 1983

"Cricket has been my life from being a player in the fifties through to the eighties, and coaching Glamorgan was a great thrill. To be president is the icing on the cake.

"I just hope that Glamorgan can improve on last season, I'm sure they will."

Long links

Jones's relationship with chief executive Hugh Morris and head coach Robert Croft dates back to when he coached them in the eighties.

"I'm looking forward to working with Hugh for the next few years, it's going to be very exciting. If he hadn't come along, I could still be playing for Glamorgan!" he joked. "It's lovely to see Hugh back here [after working for the ECB], he's doing a great job.

"I'm delighted that Robert Croft is head coach, because I brought Robert into the Glamorgan set-up as a 15-year-old at the indoor school in Neath.

"It's nice to see someone like Robert who's come through the ranks, I'm sure he will get the best of the Glamorgan side."