Ward, the son of a coal miner, was born in the colliers village of Waterloo near Rothwell, Leeds, Yorkshire, England.

He played four matches for Yorkshire, and his debut was against Middlesex at Bradford Park Avenue in 1886, where he made his highest score of 22.

[1] He was not able to sustain a place in the Yorkshire side but, after moving to live in Lancashire, he began a successful career for that county.

He was an opening batsman with a powerful defence, who drove the ball hard, but preferred to play defensive roles.

A school teacher by profession, Ward also owned a sports outfitters shop in Bolton at one time.