Board of Directors

Dr Tim Masters – Chair

Tim lives in the hills above Sennybridge and plays his club cricket at Hay-on-Wye Cricket Club. Best described by his teammates as a limited but reliable batter, he continues to move slowly down the order.

A scientist by training, he worked for Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water for 20 years in a variety of senior management roles including strategic planning, customer service, and operational delivery. More recently he was employed by the England and Wales Cricket Board as the Regional Head of Participation for Wales and South West England.

Outside of cricket, Tim is a fan of rugby, previously coaching at junior level, and is a recent convert to running having completed a number of half marathons.

Understanding of the pressures on clubs, he is really looking to this opportunity to use his business skills and cricket knowledge to help and support cricket so that it can continue to grow and thrive.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-masters-038a4637/

Dr Samara Afzal - Independent Director

Samara was born in Wordsley and is employed as a GP in the West Midlands. She grew up with a love of all things cricket and was one of the first Asian females to play county cricket, representing Warwickshire in 2003/04. She is also a level 1 ECB coach and helps coach girls at her local club when work permits.

She has worked voluntarily with the NACC (National Asian Cricket Council), setting up the first pilot project which involved getting female patients from a South Asian Background to play cricket, aimed to help their physical and mental well-being. She also works voluntarily with the Shahid Afridi foundation, helping raise money for the poor through events such as charity cricket matches.

Samara has done a lot of work addressing health inequalities particularly during the Covid Pandemic. She was recognised on International Women’s Day by ITV central as one of the 6 females leading the fight against Covid. She was also given the ‘raise the bat award’ from the ECB for her work during the pandemic and has recently been involved with the I.C.C. (International Cricket Committee) in their preparations for the upcoming Cricket World Cup.

Samara strongly believes in equality and everyone getting equal opportunities in life; “I absolutely love cricket and want to promote this amazing sport that has given me so many crucial life skills.”

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samara-afzal-a8ba34199

Twitter: @SamaraAfzal

Colin John – Finance Director

Colin joined the Cricket Board of Wales and the Welsh Cricket Association as Finance Director and Treasurer, respectively, in the spring of 2010 and subsequently continued in his role of Finance Director with Cricket Wales.

Colin is a member of Whitland Cricket Club and is a former player there.

Colin Chairs our Finance sub-committee.

Chris Last – Recreational Game Director

Chris originates from Ystradgynlais, a former mining town in the Swansea Valley. He now resides in Creigiau, Cardiff, where he plays an active role in the club’s development in the village. An advocate of cricket for children with additional needs, he also leads the All-Stars programme for over 80 children and heads up the focus around additional needs cricket.

Chris joins the board with a wealth of experience in the corporate world and is the Commercial Director for Vivup, an employee benefit and wellbeing organisation.

Emma Williams- Recreational Game Director

Emma was born and bred in Carmarthenshire. After 10 years living in Queensland, Australia and Dubai, Emma returned to her native Wales and now lives in Ammanford with her family.

Emma is a member of Ammanford Cricket club and currently serves on the committee as Women’s and Girl’s lead. Emma is passionate that women and girls should be given equal opportunities to play the game and that cricket clubs should be inclusive and accessible to all members of the community.

Outside cricket Emma is a solicitor and is the owner of a specialist family law practice in Carmarthenshire.

Sue Phelps MBE – Senior Independent Director

Having enjoyed both playing and watching all kinds of sport for most of her years, it has been a pleasure for Sue to contribute to the work of Cricket Wales as an Independent Director. Her particular interest in cricket stemmed from being the eldest daughter of a cricket playing father who involved her at the earliest age from learning to catch with a cricket ball, to helping with the teas at his local Club and progressing to being a scorer at the age of 14.

Sue is employed by Alzheimer’s Society and has worked with the organisation for nearly 25 years starting as an Administrative Secretary and moving through a number of roles to reach her current role as Director for Wales. Becoming an Independent Director was an opportunity to marry Sue’s skills and experience in change management, managing a significant budget, developing a framework of organisational values and behaviours, people management and safeguarding, with those required for a Board member. As well as being a full Board member, Sue also sits on the Finance Committee and chairs our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion sub-committee. On a personal note, Sue married a Welshman and made the move from England to Wales 34 years ago and has been blessed with two daughters and a grand-daughter who she relishes spending time with.

Jo Holley - Recreational Game Director

Jo lives outside Abergavenny and is the 1st team Scorer with Llanarth Cricket club where her husband and two children also play. Jo has been passionate about cricket since playing in the first ever female cricket team whilst at Secondary school and is part of the Llanarth Ladies softball team that started this season. She has also been seen donning pads to make occasional guest appearances for the Clytha Cricket Club and helping behind the bar at Llanarth. Jo also enjoys scoring for Cricket Wales representative age groups.

Outside of cricket, Jo has a degree in Avionics and has spent most of her professional career as a project manager working in Defence companies. Jo is also the officer in charge of a Royal Air Force Air Cadet Squadron, and Deputy Wing Warrant Officer in No 1 Welsh Wing.

Gareth Rees - Glamorgan Cricket Representative

Gareth Rees is an ex-Glamorgan cricketer who played nearly two hundred matches and scored over 7,500 runs for Glamorgan before retiring from professional cricket in 2014. He now works for the world’s largest reinsurance company, Swiss Re, in the automotive and mobility space.

He holds a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Bath and, in addition to his Directorship at Glamorgan Cricket, is also Board member on Ballet Cymru, Wales’ leading ballet company.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gareth-rees-5309a736/

Twitter: @garethprees28

Carl Alexis - Independent Director

Carl grew up in Butetown, Cardiff and now resides in Dinas Powys, Vale of Glamorgan. He has played an active role in grass roots sport for more than a decade. Carl is passionate about encouraging and widening participation in sport. Given the incredible impact sport has had on his life he is delighted to have the opportunity to give back.

Carl is a professionally qualified HR practitioner, is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development and holds an MBA and an MSc. He is interested in improving organisational culture, workforce planning, equality diversity & inclusion and staff wellbeing. He joins the board having undertaken a range of strategic HR and workforce roles in various Welsh Government departments. Carl is currently the Chief People & Communications Officer for the Welsh Revenue Authority and is learning Welsh.

Carl is still active in sports and plays veterans football and runs (when not injured). He is married with two teenage children.

Huw Morgan – Independent Director

Huw has served as an Independent Director of Cricket Wales since 2016 and is also a member of the Finance & Governance Committee. Huw has a sound knowledge of the operational, commercial and financial challenges that face this organisation, and contributes significantly to the Board in these spaces.

Huw’s early career was in the City of London financial markets. He has managed at Chief Executive Officer level and within multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural organisations. The organisations have all required significant re-organisation with demanding financial management and complex strategies. These have included roles as the first full time CEO of Harlequins Rugby Club, Commercial Director at Arrows F1 Team and Commercial Director for the International Rugby Board and at 4 Rugby World Cup Tournaments. Huw has also held directorships at Premier Rugby, Gloucester Rugby and British Rowing.

Huw has a plethora of experiences serving as a Non – Executive Director on a variety of Boards, and this experience, together with working with many different industry sectors, adds to his contribution to Cricket Wales.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/d-huw-morgan-63821a60/

Neil Pearson - Recreational Game Director

Neil is from the local communities of Gwersyllt and Bradley that sit on the outskirts of Wrexham. Neil has been an active and committed member of Gwersyllt Park CC for over 30 years and still plays regularly on a Saturday in addition to volunteering to support and develop the club both on and off the field.

Neil is passionate about linking club to community and making the game as accessible and inclusive as possible to all potential players and supporters; he believes the game can offer so much more to local communities in building both activity-based and social-based friendships. He believes cricket can have a positive impact on physical and mental health as well as improving wellbeing.

Outside of cricket Neil has been in senior roles as a Risk Management Professional for 25 years in the Public and Private Sector. He is currently working at the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) leading a change and transformation programme to create conducive conditions for people to be healthy, safe and well at work.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/neil-pearson-79004175

Sohail Rauf – Recreational Game Director

Sohail is a business owner in Cardiff and has a long history of playing and supporting cricket. He has lived in Cardiff most his life and has 3 teenage children who keep him busy.

Sohail has previously sat on the board as a co-opted member and has also previously been secretary of the Southeast Wales Cricket League and the Cardiff Midweek Cricket League. He currently is the secretary of the National Asian Cricket Council (NACC) and the Chairman of Llandaff Cricket Club. LCC is now one off the largest clubs in the South Wales area and has expanded year after year to provide cricket for all groups and all genders.

Sohail has a vision to expand cricket beyond the usual routes to make cricket an inclusive sport for all to enjoy. He believes cricket can be a force of good to break down barriers and unite the communities through a love of sport.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sohail-rauf-10b61225/