CRICKETER star Graham Lloyd has paid tribute to his ‘brave, unstoppable’ wife after she died on Mother’s Day.

Sharon Lloyd, of Accrington, died at dawn on Sunday after a five-year battle with a brain tumour at East Lancashire Hospice with cards from her sons Joseph, 12 and Joshua, seven, at her bedside.

Graham, a former Lancashire and England batsman, said his wife showed incredible bravery and resilience to spend more time with her family and two boys.

Her family said when the 37-year-old was diagnosed with the inoperable tumour five years ago she was determined to carry on with her everyday life.

She continued her job as a sales assistant at Accrington’s New Look until becoming increasingly ill 12 months ago.

As the tumour’s effects took greater hold they caused her to lose the use of her arms and legs.

Graham, the son of Sky Sports commentator and former Lancashire and England cricketer and national coach David ‘Bumble’ Lloyd, said most people who had met her would never have known she was ill.

He said: “She wanted to carry on as normal.

“Sharon had a long illness but she was very tough and never complained.

“She fought hard for five years and maximised her life to make the most of whatever time she had left.”

Graham said she became increasingly ill in recent months.

He added: “She was taking a concoction of pills to keep the tumour under control.

"In the last months, though, things fell away pretty quickly and she could do less and less.

"The tumour was growing, we couldn’t stop it.

“East Lancs Hospice was marvellous and took very good care of her.

"We didn’t know how much time she had left, so we gave her our cards to her a day early.

“She passed away on Mother’s Day at 6.30am.

“She had great friends at work and she loved to take holidays.

"Any trip she loved, like taking the kids on a caravan holiday got her all excited.”

Originally from Liverpool, Sharon met Graham in Southport in 1994 and the couple married 14 years ago.

Sharon’s mum Carol Miller said: “After she and Graham met, she decided to go to Australia with him for six months.

“They just decided they didn’t want to be apart.

“Sharon loved her life and, when she was diagnosed, she didn’t want to know how long she had. She just kept going.

“She didn’t have time to feel sorry for herself and she did everything she used to do.

"We found our strength from her.”

Graham, 41, made his Accrington debut as a 14-year-old in 1984 in a Lancashire League game at Rawtenstall in the same team as dad David, who was the club’s professional.

He soon established himself as a talented batsman and within four years he was playing for Lancashire, following in the footsteps of his father.

His impressive form with the bat earned him six England caps in one day internationals.

Graham appeared in more than 200 first-class matches for Lancashire, scoring more than 11,000 runs and claiming 24 centuries, three of which were converted into double centuries.

After leaving Old Trafford in 2002, Graham played Minor Counties cricket for Cumberland before returning to the Lancashire League with his hometown club.

He is now pursuing a career as an umpire and is on the ECB reserve list of officials for the 2011 season.

Sharon’s funeral will be held on Friday at Accrington Crematorium at 1pm.