"I could blow a gasket at times – but everybody has a different style. You look at Alex Ferguson and that would be the sort of style that I had"
Thursday 23 April 2020 17:44, UK
David Lloyd says that cricket had never been in a better place before the coronavirus pandemic thanks to the transformative impact of central contracts.
The Sky Sports commentator has spent nearly six decades working in the professional game in a wide range of roles, picking up plenty of colourful stories along the way!
Speaking on an edition of the Sky Sports Cricket podcast - which you can listen to below - 'Bumble' looks back on his time as player, coach, umpire and broadcaster - and sharing some great anecdotes and impressions too!
In conversation with former skipper Nasser Hussain and Ian Ward, Bumble explained how the cricket landscape shifted shortly after he left the role of England coach following the hosts' failure to progress from the group stages of the 1999 World Cup.
Listen to the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast: Apple | Spotify
"I would have liked us to have progressed," said Bumble. "I thought that was a freak that we didn't. There are games that have been looked at, shall we say?
"I thought we were better than going out before the thing got going; it just conspired against us. I thought that we could have done pretty well in that tournament.
"Myself and the captain (Alec Stewart) wanted Chris Lewis in the team but we couldn't get that and I respected that decision from the selectors; I think Chris Lewis would have made a difference. But it's all water under the bridge. I'm not disappointed. I had a great time.
"I thought we had some fantastic lads. The massive, massive difference was central contracts. As soon as we got central contracts, lads became England cricketers and not Essex cricketers, Lancashire cricketers. We could prepare properly.
"You've got to know the lads. You've got to know their characters. You've got to know each individual - Mark Ramprakash, Graeme Hick. You've got to know what makes them tick. It might take you 18 months. But you won't have that unless you've got central contracts.
"We got a bloody good coach in Duncan Fletcher, who was given his head and we got things together. From 2000 onwards we've done pretty well, we've done alright.
"We were floating the idea around with David Graveney but there was no money. The big money came in after 2005. That was a wonderful series; it was on Channel 4. The big money came in after then. English cricket benefitted from proper financial structuring.
"I've been in cricket professionally since I was 16 - that's 57 years or so. I don't think cricket has been better than it is right now, although we have no cricket which is beyond us - this virus is awful. But the cricket that we've got now is fabulous."
Reflecting on his coaching style - including his infamous comment "We flippin' murdered 'em" after drawing with Zimbabwe in Bulawayo in 1995-96 - Bumble added: "I could blow a gasket at times - but everybody has a different style. You look at Alex Ferguson and that would be the sort of style that I had, even when I was at Lancs. I'd back them to the hilt but there would be times when I'd say 'right, come and sit down here - I've got something to say'."
Also on the Sky Cricket Podcast, Bumble...
- explains how football was his first passion and re-lives his early days growing up in Accrington
- recalls his first days as a county player at Lancashire - with county team-mate Paul Allott providing some great anecdotes including how Bumble got his nickname
- reveals the best competitors he played against before he got into umpiring - and how that happened
- shares his favourite commentary moment and offers some top tips for broadcasters of the future
- recounts touring tales, both as a player, coach and a broadcaster
