Five commentators who did not have very good international careers

#4 Ian Ward

Ward had a poor international career

Ian Ward had a very impressive domestic career with Surrey, scoring 8575 First-Class runs at an average of 40.25, smashing 43 fifties and 23 centuries. He also scored 4059 List-A runs at an average of 28.99, smashing 27 fifties and two hundreds.

However, he did not have a successful international career. After impressing with Surrey and helping them win the County Championship in 2001 and 2002, Ward was selected in England's Test side for the series against Pakistan. Normally deployed as an opening batsman, Ward, though, was used as a middle-order batsman for England which affected his performances. On his Test debut at Lord’s, Ward scored 39 and followed it with 12 and 10 in the second Test at Old Trafford.

Despite his poor performances against Pakistan, he was selected for the Ashes. However, his numbers did not improve as he scored 23 and 3 in the first Test at Birmingham which was followed by 23 and zero in the second Test at Lord’s. After scoring only 6 and 13 in the third Test, Ward was dropped for the next two Tests and following the conclusion of the series, he was axed from the team and never recalled.

He retired from all forms of cricket in 2005 to pursue a career in cricket commentary and presentation. He is now an integral member of the Sky Sports cricket presenting team and his in-depth analysis has garnered him a lot of praise.