Former fast bowler David Lawrence named next president of Gloucestershire
Credits: ALLSPORT
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Former England fast bowler David Lawrence has been named the next President of Gloucestershire.
Lawrence, whose England career was cut short by a devastating knee injury in 1992, took 625 wickets in 280 appearances for Gloucestershire between 1981 and 1997 when he was part of a fearsome pace combination with Courtney Walsh and Kevin Curran.
He was named the club’s new president at their AGM on Thursday, succeeding outgoing Roger Gibbons for a two-year term. He is the first Black president in the 152-year history of Gloucestershire.
“I’m a local boy, born in Gloucester itself and I came to Bristol when I was 16, so to be back as President is a great honour for me,” Lawrence said. “It does show you how far we’ve come as a Club, it shows me where the game is going and needs to go.
“But I’m not here just as a token gesture, and what I mean by that is a lot has happened in cricket over the last six months, and we know we need to do more within the game. I’m happy to be making sure we are going in the right direction.
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“It’s time for more diversity and I know that I’m going to be the first President of colour at Gloucestershire and that means a lot to me.” Syd has also outlined his ambitions to help inspire the next generation, from all backgrounds, to get involved in cricket with Gloucestershire during his time as Club President.
Lawrence plans to participate in the African-Caribbean Engagement (ACE) Program, as well as other community initiatives, and serve as a mentor for the club’s future cricketers.
“I think it’s important that we get more inner-city kids playing the game, black, white, male and female”, he added. “I would love to see a local boy walk out to play for Gloucestershire. That would give me immense pleasure to see that happen and that’s what we want; we all want to see more local boys and girls playing for Gloucestershire.”
Lawrence faced racist insults and prejudice throughout his career, and last year he told the Sky Sports documentary “You Guys Are History” about a fellow player leaving a banana peel outside his hotel door during his first away match with the team in 1981.
Lawrence was approached by the club shortly after the documentary aired, and an unequivocal apology was delivered.
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