Cricinfo - Players and Officials

England players and officials - select an initial letter:
A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - Y

Full name Alan Ward
Born August 10, 1947, Dronfield, Derbyshire
Current age 60 years 329 days
Major teams England, Border, Derbyshire, Leicestershire
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm fast

Batting and fielding averages

Mat

Inns

Runs

Ave

100

Tests

8.00

43.01

First-class

163

157

928

8.43

List A

118

259

21*

6.31

Bowling averages

Mat

Inns

Balls

Runs

Wkts

BBI

BBM

Ave

Econ

Tests

761

453

4/61

4/75

32.35

3.57

54.3

First-class

163

21905

10495

460

7/42

22.81

2.87

47.6

List A

118

5628

3471

142

6/24

24.44

3.70

39.6

Career statistics

Test debut

England v New Zealand at Lord's, Jul 24-28, 1969 scorecard

Last Test

England v West Indies at Leeds, Jul 22-27, 1976 scorecard

Test statistics

First-class span

1966 - 1978

List A span

1966 - 1977

The career of fast bowler Alan Ward promised much but ended in disappointment and injury. He was genuinely fast, but his awkward action and fragile body too often let him down, and he wasn't helped by having to ply the bulk of his trade on Derbyshire's featherbeds. When England went to Australia in 1970-71, captain Ray Illingworth trumpeted his opening attack of Ward and John Snow. But while Snow thrived in the limelight, taking 31 wickets to win the series, Ward shrank from it - even before his tour was wrecked by injury. He hit the headlines for the wrong reasons in 1973 when he was sent from the field by his captain for refusing to bowl in a Sunday League game, and in 1976 he was left Derbyshire under a cloud. That summer also saw his fifth and final Test, recalled to add some fire to the England side against the rampaging West Indies, he took four wickets and won a standing ovation for a last-day duck which held West Indies at bay for almost an hour. He joined Leicestershire in 1976 but had two largely unproductive seasons with them.
Martin Williamson



Alan Ward © The Cricketer International



Alan Ward in full flow © The Cricketer International

Jun 17, 1970

England XI for the opening Test against Rest of the World 1970 © The Cricketer International

View the full list of 3 related images