A right arm bowler of slow to medium pace with a curious run in which he would change step from short to long,[1] Walter Mead always maintained an excellent length and could spin back to deadly effect whenever wickets were affected by rain.

[2] He could vary his stock off break with a ball that turned the other way; however, his variation was easy to detect[3] and he lacked the deceptive flight that enabled such bowlers as Blythe, Dennett or J.C. White to do well on firm pitches.

During the spring of 1906 it was briefly thought he would move to Adelaide in a coaching role,[9] but he refused the ultimate offer of the Australian Cricket Association.

Despite a minor revival in 1910 and 1911, when Mead failed to make the most of continuous soft wickets in 1912 it was clear his career was over,[13] so that he dropped out of the eleven before 1913 ended despite Essex having no spin bowler to replace him.

[14] His son, Harold, also played some first-class cricket for Essex, although he died in 1921 after never fully recovering from wounds he sustained during World War I.