{"id":205158,"date":"2025-06-22T13:02:15","date_gmt":"2025-06-22T13:02:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/205158\/"},"modified":"2025-06-22T13:02:15","modified_gmt":"2025-06-22T13:02:15","slug":"inspirational-england-bowler-david-syd-lawrence-dies-aged-61-after-mnd-battle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/205158\/","title":{"rendered":"Inspirational England bowler David \u2018Syd\u2019 Lawrence dies aged 61 after MND battle"},"content":{"rendered":"

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David \u2018Syd\u2019 Lawrence, the first British-born black cricketer to play for England, has died aged 61.<\/p>\n

The formidable fast bowler spent most of his career at his home county, Gloucestershire, taking 625 wickets in 280 matches. He played five Test matches for England, taking 18 wickets, before a knee injury curtailed his career. <\/p>\n

Lawrence was diagnosed with motor neurone disease last year. He was appointed MBE earlier this month for raising awareness of the disease, and released an autobiography last week, In Syd\u2019s Voice, laying bare the reality of his daily life with MND.<\/p>\n

On being diagnosed, he wrote: \u201cWith those three words my heart hit the floor and then it seemed like my body fell with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

A statement from Lawrence\u2019s family said: \u201cIt is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Dave Lawrence MBE<\/a> following his brave battle with motor neurone disease.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Syd\u2019 was an inspirational figure on and off the cricket field and no more so than to his family who were with him when he passed.<\/p>\n

\u201cA proud Gloucestershire<\/a> man, Syd took on every challenge with everything he could and his final contest with MND<\/a> was no different. His willingness to encourage and think of others right up to the end was typical of the man he was.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"David<\/p>\n

open image in gallery<\/p>\n

David Lawrence was made an MBE in the King\u2019s Birthday Honours (PA)<\/p>\n

As well as his six outings for England \u2013 having played a lone ODI against the West Indies at Lord\u2019s in 1991, collecting four for 67 \u2013 Lawrence bagged 625 wickets in 280 matches for Gloucestershire<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A strapping fast bowler who was renowned for being one of the quickest on the county circuit, Lawrence began to establish himself in Tests and a five-for against the West Indies in 1991 helped England seal a series-levelling win at the Oval, with Desmond Haynes and Viv Richards among his haul.<\/p>\n

But Lawrence\u2019s career all but ended the following year as he badly fractured his kneecap after falling awkwardly when running into bowl on the final day of a Test against New Zealand in Wellington.<\/p>\n

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His England days were immediately over aged 28 but he made a brief county comeback in 1997, playing four first-class games for Gloucestershire before hanging up his boots \u2013 16 years after he first played professionally.<\/p>\n

Lawrence became a competitive bodybuilder following his retirement and he was also a nightclub owner in Bristol.<\/p>\n

\"Lawrence<\/p>\n

open image in gallery<\/p>\n

Lawrence lies in agony after breaking his kneecap during a Test against New Zealand in Wellington, 1992 (Getty Images)<\/p>\n

After Lawrence detailed his experiences of racism during his playing career, Gloucestershire issued an unreserved apology in September 2021 and six months later he became the county\u2019s first Black president.<\/p>\n

The county side posted on X: \u201cGloucestershire are devastated to learn of the passing of former player and club president, David \u2018Syd\u2019 Lawrence MBE<\/a>, aged 61.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone at Gloucestershire would like to send their best wishes to David\u2019s family during this terribly sad time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following his MND<\/a> diagnosis, there were emotional scenes when Gloucestershire went all the way in the T20 Blast last year, with captain James Bracey presenting the trophy to Lawrence at Edgbaston.<\/p>\n

Lawrence\u2019s family statement added: \u201cAs president of Gloucestershire County Cricket Club, Syd took on the role with incredible pride and passion and loved every minute of it.<\/p>\n

\u201cSyd\u2019s wife Gaynor and son Buster thank everyone for the kindness and support that has been shown to them and the family so far and would ask that they are now given some time and space to grieve in private.\u201d<\/p>\n

Only last week, Lawrence received an MBE in the King\u2019s Birthday Honours for his outstanding services to cricket, while he had been working to raise money and awareness of his condition.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cIt is an incredibly proud moment. It is not something that I ever thought would sit after my name, but I am absolutely delighted that it will do so for however long I am here and will be a part of my legacy when I am gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lawrence\u2019s MND diagnosis hastened his autobiography as he worried he would lose the ability to speak. Titled \u2018In Syd\u2019s Voice\u2019, written with the help of Dean Wilson, the book was published this month.<\/p>\n

England and Wales Cricket Board chair Richard Thompson<\/a> said on the governing body\u2019s website: \u201cDavid \u2018Syd\u2019 Lawrence was a true trailblazer of English cricket and a man of immense courage, character, and compassion.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis impact on the game extended far beyond the boundary ropes. As a fast bowler, he thrilled crowds with his pace and passion. As a leader and advocate, he broke barriers and inspired change, becoming a powerful voice for inclusion and representation in our sport.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven in the face of his illness, David showed extraordinary strength and dignity, continuing to uplift others with his resilience and spirit. He leaves behind a legacy that will endure in the hearts of all who love cricket.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur thoughts are with his family, friends, and the entire cricketing community at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Additional reporting by PA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":205159,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4101],"tags":[1406,79,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-205158","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cricket","8":"tag-cricket","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114727154331178576","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205158","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=205158"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205158\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/205159"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=205158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=205158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=205158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}