David Lawrence's journey with MND to feature on BBC Breakfast
25 September 2024
David Lawrence will feature in a BBC Breakfast film on Thursday morning as the nation’s media continues to shine a spotlight on his journey with motor neurone disease (MND).
Club President, David Lawrence, affectionately known as ‘Syd’, was diagnosed with MND in June following four months in hospital and multiple tests. A former fast bowler for both Gloucestershire and England, Syd has been an athlete all his life and even up until five years ago, was competing as a bodybuilder.
During his career with Gloucestershire in the 80s and 90s, Syd took 625 wickets in 280 matches bowling with blistering pace that earned him five Test and one ODI appearance with England, an international career that was cut short due to a career-ending knee injury vs New Zealand in 1992. Upon making his debut for England at Lord’s in 1988, Syd became the first British-born Black player to represent his country, an achievement he puts just behind the birth of his son, Buster, in the proudest moments of his life.
In April 2022, Syd was unveiled as Gloucestershire's Club President and over the last two years has been a driving force behind the Club's EDI, sustainability and social inclusion programmes.
Syd, until recently, has dealt with his MND diagnosis in private with the support of his wife, Gaynor, and his close knit network of family and friends. It was during Vitality Blast Finals Day on Friday 14th September, in a pre-recorded interview with Sky Sports, however, that Syd spoke publicly for the first time about his battle with the disease.
It was after the final in which Gloucestershire beat Somerset to win the T20 Blast for the first time, that James Bracey touched the hearts of the nation by presenting the Vitality Blast trophy to Syd, an iconic image that encapsulates the emotion of a historic occasion for the Club.
Having recently gone through the process of recording his voice in preparation for the sad eventuality that he will likely lose the ability to speak naturally, Syd is bravely continuing to tell his story in the hope of raising awareness of MND and support for the charities that have been there for him every step of the way.
Syd’s journey with MND will feature in a BBC Breakfast film with John Maguire on BBC One on Thursday morning at 6:20am and 8:15am.
If you would like to support Syd with his journey with MND, you can do so by visiting the Cricketers' Trust fundraising page dedicated to David Lawrence.
Everyone at Gloucestershire sends their love and support to Syd, Gaynor and their family and friends, and looks forward to seeing Syd back at the Seat Unique Stadium in the not too distant future.
