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 local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

) is a former

aggressive Aggression is overt or covert, often harmful, social interaction with the intention of inflicting damage or other harm upon another individual; although it can be channeled into creative and practical outlets for some. It may occur either reacti ...

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 London ...

, 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 ("He who perseveres, conquers") , established = , closed = , type = Independent school , religious_affiliation = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head Master , head = Christopher Ramsey , c ...

, where his pupils have included

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

opening batsmen

Rory Burns Rory Joseph Burns (born 26 August 1990) is an English cricketer who plays internationally for the England Test cricket team. In domestic cricket, he captains Surrey in first-class and List A cricket. Burns made his Test debut in 2018. He led ...

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

and

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

, and several other players for Surrey, such as

Freddie van den Bergh Frederick Oliver Edward van den Bergh (born 14 June 1992) is an English cricketer. Van Den Bergh is a right-handed batsman who bowls slow left-arm orthodox. He was born in Bickley, London and educated at Whitgift School and Durham University. ...

Laurie Evans Laurie Evans can refer to: * Laurie Evans (cricketer) (born 1987), English cricketer * Laurie Evans (politician) Dr. Laurie Edward Evans (October 14, 1933 – June 19, 2016) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. Between 1988 and 1990, he served ...

and Jamie Smith. Within the conservative and restrictive world of

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

whites White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view. Description of populations as " ...

, Ward was able to demonstrate a little eccentricity, occasionally choosing to wear a cap or even helmet decorated in the traditional

Harlequin Harlequin (; it, Arlecchino ; lmo, Arlechin, Bergamasque dialect, Bergamasque pronunciation ) is the best-known of the ''zanni'' or comic servant characters from the Italian language, Italian ''commedia dell'arte'', associated with the city o ...

pattern more associated with Douglas Jardine 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 Croydon {{England-cricket-bio-1960s-stub