Lawrence was born in
Gloucester, England on 28 January 1964 to
Jamaican parents. By the age of 17 he was playing for
Gloucestershire, opening the bowling with
Courtney Walsh. His vigorous bowling action generated great pace, although at times he was also prone to inaccuracy. He toured Sri Lanka with an England 'B' side in 1985–6. He was later named the 1985
Cricket Writers' Club Young Cricketer of the Year. Lawrence was certainly one of the fastest bowlers in domestic cricket of his era. During the 1988 season, in a match against the touring
West Indies, in gloomy conditions at Bristol, a delivery from Lawrence struck batter
Phil Simmons on the head. Simmons had not been wearing a helmet, and his heart stopped beating as he was rushed to hospital for emergency brain surgery; he made a full recovery. Later that season Lawrence came into the England team for the one-off
Test match against
Sri Lanka. Although he finished on the winning side in that Test, England's first victory in a Test match for nearly two years, with the emergence of
Devon Malcolm he did not force his way back into the team until the
Trent Bridge Test of 1991. The
West Indies were then the opponents, so that Lawrence faced up to the recovered Simmons again, dismissing him in the second innings. Lawrence then took his only Test
five-wicket haul, 5 for 106, at
The Oval, contributing to England's series-levelling win in the Fifth Test. To Lawrence fell the distinction of being the last bowler to dismiss
Viv Richards in Test cricket. He retained his place for another subsequent match against Sri Lanka. He also played his only
one-day international that season at
Lord's, returning the best bowling figures in the match, 4 for 67 in 11 eventful overs, including his Gloucestershire colleague Walsh among his wickets. As of present these remain the best bowling figures recorded by a bowler who played only one one-day international. Having just established himself as part of England's primary bowling strikeforce, he suffered a knee injury on 10 February 1992, in
Wellington, New Zealand, while playing his fifth Test for his country. In the middle of his delivery stride, his left
patella (knee cap) shattered, the noise of it reaching as far as the boundary; spectators said the sound of his knee splitting was "like a pistol shot". == Personal life and death ==