Send-off for 'larger-than-life' cricketer Syd draws hundreds

HUNDREDS attended the funeral of former England fast bowler David Lawrence, the first British-born black cricketer to play for the nation, after his death aged 61.

- By Jon Coates

The sportsman and later bodybuilder, below, known as “Syd” and born in Gloucester to Jamaican parents, was diagnosed with motor neurone disease last year and died in June.

Family, friends and former teammates from both his county side Gloucestershire and England, along with members of the public, gathered to remember him at St Mary Redcliffe Church in Bristol on Friday.