Alan Ward (1947-2026)

It is always sad when your heroes die. 

As one gets older, it perhaps makes you more aware of your own mortality and the fact that there are more days behind you, than ahead. 

So it is that the news of the passing of Alan Ward today has saddened me considerably.

The statistics don't give the full picture of the fastest English bowler that I have seen in Derbyshire colours. Mark Footitt was fast, but when Alan burst onto the scene in 1966/67 it was akin to a meteorite hitting earth. He was seriously quick, more than the tall, slim frame suggested was possible. The smooth and rhythmic run up, the gather at the crease and then POW! Or 'Bloody hell, that was sharp', as a bloke at the side of us said on one of our early visits to Chesterfield.

Even from the boundary edge, it was clear that some good and experienced players didn't fancy it. When the rhythm was right, when the pitch was helpful and when Alan was mentally and physically at his best, there were a few who backed away. Bear in mind that there was none of the protective equipment of today and a trip to face Derbyshire in the late 1960s might make a few consider their career choice and the validity of any injury cover they had. There was Harold Rhodes at the other end too, past his very fast peak, but still extremely lively.

Alan took 460 first-class wickets, most of them for Derbyshire before he left the county for a brief spell with Leicestershire, ahead of his first-class cricket retirement in 1978, at the age of only 31. He later emigrated to Australia and spent his later years on The Gold Coast with the sunshine on his back. Perhaps more of that and less of the strong Derby crosswinds might have lengthened his career, who knows? 

Many will sadly remember him best for being sent from the field by then captain Brian Bolus in 1973. It was poor captaincy from someone who wasn't the best in that field. Poor man management, for someone who clearly needed help, empathy and support, but got none. Perhaps had his formative years been spent under Eddie Barlow, he might have enjoyed a longer career and been more sympathetically managed. I don't know, but after 1970 he was never quite the same bowler that he once threatened to be, as recurring injuries took their toll.

I prefer to remember the Alan Ward who was my first cricket idol. I wanted to bowl like him. Not that I ever could, very few others were able to either. It didn't quite work out in England colours, though fourteen wickets in five Tests was far from a disgrace. 

Were all the injuries mechanical, or was some of the issue in his head? I don't know and I have heard contrasting opinions on that over the years. But those 460 first-class wickets cost him just 22 runs each, so in between them he must have done a lot right. When he marked out his long run and was in his pomp, newspapers were put down, trips to the toilet were postponed and your eyes were firmly fixed on the middle. Not that you could always follow the speed of the ball..

My favourite two memories both involve Sussex. The 1969 Gillette Cup semi-final, when Derbyshire only made 136, but it might as well have been 500. That day he bowled 8-5-11-2 and the roar when he destroyed the stumps of Les Lenham, worthy of a football crowd, lives with me to this day. They were all out for 49, with Ward, Rhodes, Rumsey and Eyre unplayable.

Then a year later, a John Player League game at Derby. After one lightning over (from a shortened run..) Sussex were 1-4. Mike Buss caught behind, Peter Graves leg before, Jim Parks also caught behind and then Tony Greig bowled neck and crop. Four wickets in four balls, on the way to 8-1-11-5. Derbyshire won in a canter, Chris Wilkins played a trademark innings and all was well with the world.

If you never saw him at his peak, you were unlucky. He was mercurial and there were days when you could clearly see it wasn't quite THERE, but those good days....

I never saw Warren, Bestwick, Copson, the Popes, Gladwin or Brian Jackson. I only saw Les Jackson once, long after he had retired.

But I did see Alan Ward and between 1967 and 1970 he was something special. There were good days afterwards too, but I consider myself fortunate to have seen him at his best. Fast bowling rarely got better than seeing him and Harold Rhodes at opposite ends.

May he rest in peace. Thank you for the memories, Alan.