David ‘Bumble’ Lloyd, who ended his playing career with Cumberland, has announced his retirement as a commentator from Sky Sports.
Lloyd had been with them for 22 years and has built a huge fan following for his knowledgeable input, and his humorous take on the game.
He only played for Lancashire in the County Championship from 1965 to 1983, and after announcing his retirement from the first class game joined Cumberland in the Minor Counties.
Lloyd played 20 MC Championship games for Cumberland between 1984 and 1989, scoring 1,089 runs with a best of 109 against Durham in 1986.
During his time as a Cumberland player he also stood in 35 first class matches as an umpire.
He continued to play Lancashire League cricket until 2009 and in the final game of that season he actually scored the run which gave his home-town club Accrington its seventh League title.
At Accrington he played alongside his son Graham, a former Lancashire professional, and who had also played 13 Minor Counties Championships games for Cumberland between 2003 and 2005 (895 runs, top score 130).
Lloyd senior coached Lancashire and England, and had been capped nine times by his country.
But it was as a commentator with Sky that ‘Bumble’ became a household name, sharing then box with notable ex-players like Sir Ian Botham, David Gower, Michael Holding and the late Bob Willis.
However last month, Lloyd apologised to former Yorkshire player Azeem Rafiq after he was accused of making racist comments.
Rafiq, speaking to the DCMS committee, accused Lloyd of attempting to smear him and suppress allegations of racism against his former employers Yorkshire County Cricket Club.
Commenting on his retirement, Bumble said: “After 22 wonderful years with Sky Cricket, I’ve decided the time is now right to pass on the microphone.
“It’s been an immense privilege to try and bring the sport I love into people’s homes up and down the country.
“There are so many wonderful memories, so many terrific games and incredible performances. I’ve been lucky to travel the world sharing Ashes highs and lows, World Cup wins and losses, heroics and heartaches with you all.
“Sharing a commentary box in Australia in 2013 with my broadcasting hero Bill Lawry was a real highlight. It has been a great pleasure to work alongside Ian Bishop, Ravi Shastri, Shane Warne, Shaun Pollock and Ian Smith amongst many others.
“With the passing of Bob Willis and after the decision to move on by my good friends David Gower, Ian Botham and more recently Michael Holding, the commentary box feels a little emptier. And so I feel it is time for me to do the same and move on to the next chapter.”
“I leave the Sky box in immensely capable hands led by my pals Michael Atherton, Nasser Hussain, Ian Ward and Rob Key. To those that follow, cherish that mic. Inform and entertain so the next generation can fall in love with this wonderful game.”
