NICK FRIEND: The former England fast bowler is back at his home county as its new president; he wants the club to increase its focus on community projects, more closely align with Bristol's diversity and - more than anything - make a difference
For 25 minutes, David Lawrence holds court. But almost immediately, one thing is clear: Gloucestershire's new president is going to do things his way.
"I don't want to hear people's moans and groans about their chair or that their coffee wasn't hot," he smiles. "I want to be more of a policy influencer. I'm not going to be a gin-and-tonic person with a blazer on – that's not going to be me."
The date for President's Day at Nevil Road is yet to be finalised, but when it comes around, it will look different to those of times gone by. "I want to invite people of colour to the ground who may not have come to cricket before. In that room will be a cross-section of people. Not your typical president's guests. There will be black poets up there, friends I have from Massive Attack, the group. It will be a mixture of people. All the people I've spoken to are keen to come up and support, so that will be great."
Lawrence namechecks Roni Size, six years his junior, "a great drum and bass from Bristol" and "a good friend of mine". His point is broader, and he is talking about reconnecting the game with a more diverse audience: "You want the camera to pan into that president's room and see a different crowd. We don't want them all to be 70 with beige suits on. We want to see different people and that's what I'm about. I wouldn't have taken the job if I couldn't be who I am. I'm an individual. I am who I am and I'm true to myself. That's that really."
Gloucester-born and Tredworth-bred, this is home. He owns the DoJo's nightclub in town and is speaking more than four decades after making the first of 280 appearances for the county in 1981. Seven years later came the first of five England caps, the last of which ended with a devastating knee injury from which his career never fully recovered. Not that he dared let himself go in retirement: he took up bodybuilding and remains in remarkable shape, albeit sitting with a protective boot, having recently hurt his Achilles in the gym.
He replaces Roger Gibbons in his new role, having been revealed to the club's members as successor last Thursday evening at Gloucestershire's annual general meeting.
Posts like this – unpaid and, in many cases, symbolic before anything else – are whatever the incumbents make of them, and while Lawrence works most weekend nights at his club, he intends to be on-site as much as possible, describing himself as "a modern-day president". As much as anything else, he recognises his significance as the first black president in the county's 152-year history, and one major ambition is to better align the region of Gloucestershire with the city of Bristol.
Lawrence claimed 625 wickets for Gloucestershire in 280 appearances (Allsport/UK)
"I want them to be more in the community doing things as a cricket club," he adds. "I'm quite heavily involved with a friend of mine with the homeless – he converts cargo shipments to homes for the homeless. So, I want the club to get involved with stuff like that – just thinking outside the box a bit.
"Bristol is built on music as well. It's a great culture city, and it's a vibrant and wonderful city. One of the things they need to do is embrace Bristol and be a part of that.
"Most cricket clubs have their set way and that's it really. We have an opportunity to change that. That's what it's about. We change it, we move forward and bring it up to date a bit. It's not asking a lot. It's just bringing cricket and how it's seen outside to be updated and that's all I'm trying to do really: get away from that stuffiness. That's the biggest thing for me. Try to be a bit more relaxed."
In 2021, Lawrence spoke out in a Sky Sports documentary about the racist abuse he suffered from a Gloucestershire teammate early in his career. During his first away game for the club, he received a knock at his hotel door one evening, and a banana skin had been left outside. Last September, he was offered a full, public apology from the club, which followed a meeting with the county's chair, David Jones, and chief executive, Will Brown.
Conversations around his increased involvement – initiated by Lawrence – began shortly afterwards, before settling on the way forward in January. He admits to having held qualms, though they were outweighed by a desire to make a difference.
He says: "If we keep turning down roles, then where do we start? You have to start somewhere. That's my biggest gripe. If you don't take the role, then don't moan when there are no black presidents. You have to take the opportunity when it arises, embrace it and do it your own way."
Mark Alleyne, another legend of the club as both captain and head coach, who returned to Bristol in an interim capacity last summer, made a similar point to The Cricketer in a soon-to-be published interview. "With the other black coaches who are down the pecking order in experience or qualification or whatever," he said, "I do feel a little bit of pressure that I need to accept these opportunities on their behalf, which sounds crazy. But that really is how it is."
Lawrence adds: "I know what people will say – that there's the 12-point ECB structure that they have at the moment. Is it a ticking box exercise? At the end of the day, I don't really care. I'm not really interested in what people think. I'm here for a two-year tenure – I'm going to do it my way.
"People will be critical – I know that. But if you keep turning down these jobs then where do you start? If you keep saying no because it's a tick in the box exercise, then where do you start? Whether you're female, male, gay or whatever, if you keep turning down those roles because you think it's been given to you because of that then you're not going to move forward. You have to be the first one to take it and then move it on.
"If you look at (Alleyne's) CV, how may one-day trophies has he won? I think black coaches, black cricketers looking from the outside, are thinking: 'If he can't get a job, what chance have I got?"
Bristol was the third city to join the ACE Programme, founded by Ebony Rainford-Brent, last summer, thanks to a tie-up with Royal London, who provided £100,000 in funding, and Rainford-Brent told The Cricketer last week that the Bristol strand of the initiative had seen rapid early progress "almost on par in some ways with London".
Lawrence was present for the launch and, as president, plans to devote his time to the scheme. But, like the charity's founder, he offers a warning to the game: "Long may it continue, the funding has to continued; everything is about funding, and you need the funding for these projects to continue. Everyone likes to jump on the wagon when it is fashionable to say I am going to invest, and in three or four years' time, they disappear."
Which is why he has set this goal for his two-year period: "I would like to see more inner-city kids involved: black, white, I don't care."
On the professional circuit, only nine black players featured in men's county cricket in 2019, down from 33 in 1994, when Lawrence – the first British-born black man to represent England – was still in the game, albeit on the comeback trail.
The reasons for that decline? Lawrence points to the closure of the Haringey Cricket College in Tottenham – alma mater of Alleyne, Keith Piper and Adrian Rollins among others, all developed under the watchful eye of Reg Scarlett, the former West Indies off-spinner.
Lawrence and Phil Tufnell have remained close friends since their playing days (Graham Chadwick/Allsport)
As Lawrence puts it: "They were producing a lot of black cricketers and then suddenly – what happened there? It got cut.
"If that was producing the same number of white cricketers, everybody would have hailed it as the best thing ever. But suddenly they're producing a lot of black cricketers and you cut the funding, you close it. If they'd continued that, they could have had so much success. You think of all the people that came out of that club – it's sad. That is a great indictment in the last 30 to 40 years.
"But it's just about getting the inner-city kids playing again. I don't think the participation of Asian and black kids is low – I think it's quite high. But it's where they go from 14, 15, 16: why is there such a drop-off?"
The ECB were briefly in touch with Lawrence after his experiences of racism came to light; he received a phone call asking if the situation had been adequately dealt with. "That was it really. It didn't really have much more depth to it all."
Bringing his story into the public domain after 40 years took some courage, though. "It was hard talking about it," he says, "because it brings back those uncomfortable memories." But he is glad he did it.
"There's no doubt about it – people need to know that's what went on. It's not just footballers, but cricketers suffer the same – just like any society. We suffer racism, discrimination just like society reflects. Whether that's from your teammates or other people, it's part of it. Back in the early '80s, it was tough.
"I always remember when I was 10 or even younger, sitting down in front of the TV. I said: 'Mum, why are these guys' faces painted black?' She said: 'It's entertainment – they're called the Black and White Minstrels.' And so, we had to sit, and nobody said it was wrong. I remember it used to be on at 6pm on a Saturday. Primetime. That was your entertainment, and nobody objected to it, so we just thought that was the norm. It's just different times, and you have to accept it was different times.
"That's the only thing – 40 years on, we're still talking about it. Whether it's football, society is still the same, isn't it? Society has probably got worse than better with racism. I don't think it's a better place. With social media, people can hide behind these platforms and say what they want. I wouldn't say it was a better place. We've still got a long way to go."