David Lawrence would have celebrated his 62nd birthday today.
He would have been in Gloucester, probably. Maybe at the county ground having a look at the pitch. Maybe just walking around the old streets where everyone knew his name.
But he is not here. He left us last June. And today we remember the man who bowled fast and felt everything even faster.
Sound that stopped the ground
May 26, 1988. Bristol. The light was going and Phil Simmons was batting without a helmet. Syd ran in hard. He always ran in hard. That was just him.
The ball was short. Simmons got it completely wrong. The ball hit his head with a sound that stays with you. Not the sound of cricket. Something sickening.
Simmons went down. He did not move. His heart actually stopped right there on the pitch. The ground went silent. You could hear people crying. This was not a game anymore. This was a man dying on the grass.
Someone called for help. Frenchay Hospital was nearby. Just a few miles away. That saved him. The doctors there knew head injuries. They operated fast. Removed a clot from his brain.
Eight days later Simmons walked out. He survived.
Tears by the bed
Syd went to see him. Not as an England fast bowler. Not as the guy who took wickets.
He went as a man carrying a heavy load. He stood by the bed and held Simmos hand. He cried. Just stood there with tears rolling down.
He kept saying sorry even though everyone knew it was an accident. That moment told you who he was. He felt things deeply. He was not just a fast bowler throwing rocks. He had a heart that could break.
Five matches and a dream shattered
Months after that day he made his Test debut. Took five wickets at The Oval. Dismissed Viv Richards in Richards last Test innings.
That was Syd. Coming back again.
Then came 1992. Wellington. He ran in to bowl. His kneecap shattered. The crack was so loud that people say it echoed around the ground. He fell down screaming.
Just like that his Test career was over. Five Tests. That was all England got from him.
Five Tests and a knee that never worked right again.
Man who would not vanish
Most men would have disappeared after that. Not Syd. He went to the gym instead. Became a bodybuilder in his forties. Started businesses helping people who were losing their hair. Stayed in the game.
Then he became president of Gloucestershire. The first Black president in one hundred fifty two years of the club.
That meant something real. The streets of Gloucester saw one of their own at the top.
The last battle
Then came the real fight. Motor Neurone Disease. It took his speech. It took his walk.
But it could not touch his spirit. He fought it for a year. Showed the same courage he showed when he ran in against the West Indies.
Legacy
David Lawrence would have celebrated his 62nd birthday today. But he died last year on June 22. He was 61. MND took him from us.
But he is not gone. He lives in that hospital room where he held Simmons hand and wept.
He lives in every young fast bowler from Gloucester who runs in hard.
He lives in the memory of a man who was broken many times but never stayed down.
That is David Lawrence. That is Syd.