David LAWRENCE

 It was hard to think of David Lawrence as a mean and nasty fast bowler: he was just too nice a bloke. From his repartee with the Bristol crowds to his mesmeric break-dancing he was a byword for good humour. He could walk the walk, and bowl the ball, though, as he showed when he cracked Phil Simmons on his unprotected head and put him in hospital in 1988. Syd Lawrence - he was nicknamed after a bandleader of an earlier era - bowled with every sinew in his body, starting out on a very long run an accelerating to the wicket. In his early years he emphasised his facial resemblance to the boxer Frank Bruno by shadow boxing with his hands as he started his approach, giving the impression he was almost punching himself in the nose. He made his Test debut in the one off Test against Sri Lanka at Lord's in 1988, taking 1-37 and 2-74, but in the 1989 Ashes series, when the selectors got through more than a dozen fast bowlers, he was kept out by an Achilles tendon strain. Not until 1991 did he return, against the West Indies in the third Test at Trent Bridge, taking just 2-116 and 1-61 but starring in a comic last wicket partnership of 58 with Phillip DeFreitas, of which Syd scored 34. He finally came off age as a bowler on a hot day at the Oval as West Indians followed on, and he bowled with great stamina to take 5-106. He took four more wickets in the Test against Sri Lanka at Lord's. He went to New Zealand in 1991-92, hoping for a place in the World Cup, but his career was brought to an end at Wellington when his kneecap cracked under the strain. Syd's screams of agony were heard on radio commentary all round the world. (Bob Harragan)