15 Facts about David Lloyd: Cricket’s incredible all-rounder

Cricketer, coach, umpire, broadcaster – David ‘Bumble’ Lloyd is a legend of the game. The talented former England all-rounder from Lancashire remains a popular figure in the game. As a cricketer he promised to – and almost did – reach the top; but remained calmly cheerful and humorous despite his setbacks. Lloyd was an unlucky cricketer. Many of his admirers – and probably he himself – were disappointed that he did not achieve more.

1. Birth:

David Lloyd was born on 18^th March 1947 in Accrington in Lancashire, England. He was educated at Accrington Secondary Technical School.

2. Pair on Debut:

Lloyd made his first First-class debut for Lancashire in June 1965 against Middlesex at Old Trafford. He batted at number seven and made a pair – scores of zero in both innings – as Middlesex took a nine-wicket victory. He did, however, take two wickets.

3. Struggle with the bat, impressive with the ball:

Lloyd went on to struggle in his first season with the bat, playing 13 matches and scoring only 262 runs at 14.55 with a high score of 44. He did find success with the ball, however, taking 21 wickets at 31.33.

4. Nickname:

He is known in the cricketing world as Bumble because of the ostensible similarity between his facial profile and those of the Bumblies – characters of Michael Bentine’s Children’s television programme.

5. The Moment:

1968 saw Lloyd score his first century for Lancashire, against Cambridge University. He scored 148 not out in a rain-affected draw. He later stated to The Sunday Times that this was the moment when he realised he wanted to be a cricketer. He went on to score 935 runs from 23 matches that season, largely batting up the order. His bowling suffered, however, taking only one wicket at 93.00.

6. Three incredible seasons:

Lloyd collected three consecutive winner’s medals for the Gillette Cup in 1970, 1971 and 1972 following finals victories over Sussex, Kent and Warwickshire. He scored over 1,000 runs in each of these seasons and took 33 wickets throughout. 1972 saw 12 of these wickets taken at 28.25 and 1,510 runs at 47.18, including six centuries, making that year Lloyd’s most successful season.

7. England Debut:

Lloyd made his England ODI debut on 7 September 1973 at The Oval against the West Indies. In this 55-over match, England was reduced to 189/9, Lloyd making only eight before being run out. The West Indies reached the target from 42.2 overs, for the loss of only two wickets.

8. Best Knock:

In his second Test- against India in 1974 at Edgbaston- Lloyd scored a splendidly fluent 214 not out from 396 balls. He hit 17 fours in his 448-minute innings, helping England to 459/2 declared. India was dismissed for 216 in their second innings giving England an innings victory and the series 3–0.

9. International Stats:

Lloyd played 9 Tests and scored 552 at an average of 42.46. His 8 ODIs produced 285 runs at an average of 40.71 including a hundred- his top score of 116 not out against Pakistan.

10. First-class Stats:

Lloyd scored an incredible 19269 runs at an average of 33.33 from 407 First-class matches including 38 centuries and 93 fifties. His 288 List A matches produced 7761 at an average of 32.74 including 7 tons and 44 fifties.

11. Umpiring:

Following his retirement in 1983, Lloyd umpired first-class and List-A matches from 1985 to 1987. In all, he oversaw 35 first-class matches and 27 List-A games, including tour matches for India and New Zealand.

12. Coaching:

Lloyd became Lancashire head coach in 1993 and went on to guide Lancashire to their third Benson and Hedges Cup title. Lloyd became England’s coach in 1996 and saw England to Test series victories against India, New Zealand and South Africa, as well as ODI victories against India, Pakistan and the West Indies. He resigned from the post following the 1999 World Cup.

13. Commentating:

Lloyd has been a regular Sky Sports commentator since 1999. He is a regular on coverage of England’s Test and ODIs, but it is as the voice of Twenty20 cricket, since its launch in 2003, that he has become particularly known, with his excitable style and catchphrases such as “Start the Car!”, the title of his second autobiography, although he has admitted he sees the game as “a form of entertainment using cricket equipment” rather than real cricket.

14. Books:

In 2000, Lloyd published his autobiography, ‘Anything but Murder’. He has also written ‘Last in the Tin Bath: The Autobiography’ and ‘Start the Car: The World According to Bumble’.

15. Accrington Stanley:

Lloyd has been a lifelong supporter of football club Accrington Stanley F.C., and played for them during the 1960s.Lloyd has maintained links with the club after his playing career ended, and in May 2009, he voiced his wishes to become involved in the club from the point of view of investment.