Ward Frank Image 3 South Australia 1938

Beginning his career in similar fashion to Don Bradman by playing for the St. George Club in Sydney before moving to Adelaide, Ward took 120 wickets for South Australia in 28 Shield matches, and, using flight and spin as his weapons, took 187 wickets in all matches for the State side. He made his debut in State cricket in 1935-36, Bertie Oldfield described him as a unique bowler who flighted the ball with great skill. “It was sheer delight to keep wicket to him” was the tribute paid by Australia’s greatest stumper.

His Test appearances for Australia were limited to four matches, all against Gubby Allen’s England tourists, three in Australia when he made his debut at Brisbane in December 1936 where he took 8 wickets in the match and recording his Test best return of 6-102 in England’s second innings, and also played at Sydney and Melbourne, where t Melbourne he displayed dogged batting as a nightwatchman to make 18, which preceded a partnership of 346 by Bradman and Fingleton. This was the beginning of a recovery which took Australia from 2-0 down to win the series 3-2. and his last Test came on the 1938 tour to England. He took 92 wickets at an average of 19.27 on that trip, but with O’Reilly on hand gained a place in only the First Test at Trent Bridge in June 1938. He failed to take a wicket in a total of 658 for 8 declared which included a double hundred by Paynter and single centuries from Barnett, Compton and Hutton.

He played his last first class match in the 1940-41 season by when he had played 66 first class games, averaging 13.82 with the bat with a single half century when he made his highest score of 62. With his bowling he took 320 wickets at 24.68 apiece, with a best return of 7-51, Ward taking ten wickets in a match 4 times and five wickets in an innings on 24 occasions., also taking 42 catches in first class play.