David Mark Ward (born 10 February 1961 at

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

) is a former

aggressive Aggression is behavior aimed at opposing or attacking something or someone. Though often done with the intent to cause harm, some might channel it into creative and practical outlets. It may occur either reactively or without provocation. In h ...

batsman and occasional wicket-keeper for

Surrey County Cricket Club Surrey County Cricket Club (Surrey CCC) is a first-class club in county cricket, one of eighteen in the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Surrey, including areas that now form South Londo ...

, playing from 1985 until 2004. In all first-class matches, he scored 8139 runs at an average of 38.39, with 16 centuries and a highest score of 294 not out. He scored "a remarkable 2,072 first-class runs in 1990, including seven hundreds". Nicknamed "Gnasher" for his prominent teeth, Ward was something of a cult personality as a player. He is now a coach at

Whitgift School Whitgift School is an independent day school with limited boarding in South Croydon, London. Along with Trinity School of John Whitgift and Old Palace School it is owned by the Whitgift Foundation, a charitable trust. The school was prev ...

, where his pupils have included

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

opening batsmen

Rory Burns Rory Joseph Burns (born 26 August 1990) is an English cricketer who has played internationally for the England cricket team, England Test cricket team. In domestic cricket, he captains Surrey County Cricket Club, Surrey in first-class cricket, ...

Jason Roy Jason Jonathan Roy (born 21 July 1990) is an English cricketer who played for England in One Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 International (T20I) cricket, and previously played for the Test team. In domestic cricket, he represents Surrey, ...

and

Dom Sibley Dominic Peter Sibley (born 5 September 1995) is an English professional cricketer who has played internationally for the England Test cricket team. In domestic cricket, he represents Surrey having previously played for Warwickshire. Sibley ma ...

, wicket-keeper Jamie Smith, and several other players for Surrey, such as Freddie van den Bergh and Laurie Evans. Within the conservative and restrictive world of

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

whites White is a racial classification of people generally used for those of predominantly European ancestry. It is also a skin color specifier, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, ethnicity and point of view. De ...

, Ward was able to demonstrate a little eccentricity, occasionally choosing to wear a cap or even

helmet A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protecti ...

decorated in the traditional

Harlequin Harlequin (, , ; , ) is the best-known of the comic servant characters (Zanni) from the Italian commedia dell'arte, associated with the city of Bergamo. The role is traditionally believed to have been introduced by the Italian actor-manager Zan ...

pattern more associated with

Douglas Jardine Douglas Robert Jardine ( 1900 – 1958) was a Scottish cricketer who played 22 Test matches for England, captaining the side in 15 of those matches between 1931 and 1934. A right-handed batsman, he is best known for captaining the English ...

and other players of yester-year. Ward currently plays club cricket for Old Whitgiftians C.C. in the Surrey Championship when his school duties allow.

References

External links

Cricinfo profile
1961 births Living people English cricketers Surrey cricketers Hertfordshire cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Minor Counties cricketers Cricketers from the London Borough of Croydon People from Croydon 20th-century English sportsmen {{England-cricket-bio-1960s-stub