A brief look at David ‘Syd’ Lawrence MBE’s careerpublished at 12:46 British Summer Time
12:46 BST
Sammy Jenkins
BBC News, Live page reporter
Image source, PA Media
David ‘Syd’ Lawrence, was the first British-born black cricketer to represent England.
Hailing from Gloucester, the man, affectionately known as ‘Syd’ after the British bandleader, external, made his first-class debut for his home county in 1981.
He would later take 625 wickets in 280 matches during his 16-year-career.
He also played five Test matches for England, his first, where he took three wickets against Sri Lanka at Lord’s in 1988.
Capable of reaching extreme pace, he did not play again for England until 1991 when he took 14 wickets across three Tests and played his sole one-day international the same summer.
His career was later curtailed by a serious knee injury which he suffered while playing for England in New Zealand in 1992.
He did return to his beloved sport, playing four times in the County Championship in 1997, but he did not play again in top-level cricket afterwards.
After retirement he became a nightclub owner and amateur bodybuilder before being named Gloucestershire’s club president in 2022, a role he remained in until his death.