Legacy Amongst the Sadness
Peter Langston | August 03, 2024
The news that broke this week, that Brian and Lynne Warren had been killed in a freak car accident near their home in Margaret River, has stunned the game's devoted. As the birthdays start to condemn all of us, bad news of those we once knew, competed with or against and often partied hard with, is never easy to take but when it as sudden and as bizarre as their passing, it is devastating.
Two of the finest people from Armidale cricket of the 1980’s, the Warrens died when their car was hit by a falling tree as they were driving home to Margaret River, after a holiday enjoying the outdoor pursuits they loved and their other passion, spending time with family, especially their grandchildren.
Brian was an excellent cricketer, a brilliant tactician on and off the field, a superb man manager and someone who understood and enacted “the game-the club-the team-the player” hierarchy. He always held the good of the game as his highest yardstick, never losing sight of his role as a custodian: leaving the game better for his involvement.
After debuting in Armidale's then A grade at the start of the 1977-78 season, it was his third game that was fortuitous. In those days, Armidale was run as two separate competitions. From September to November, a one day format was pursued which included teams from UNE and the Armidale Teachers College. It was followed by a two day comp of just the town clubs and many a student or staff member sought games with a town team. Warren had just top scored in Page's defeat by Easts, the Daffies with their combination of older established players and young bucks like Mike and Rick Porter, Neil Baillie, Mal McLean and Ray Eddie. In a conversation which had ramifications for more than Easts, Mike Porter made it clear Warren would be welcome at Easts.
In the seasons that followed, he quickly became captain of Easts at their strongest, but he was the X-factor that marshalled their copious resources into a formidable team, which along with Waratahs, dominated the 1980's. He was a useful bat in the middle order and an accurate medium pacer, but once he had the leadership he was so much more. His generosity and encouragement was never limited by wearing that Daffodil cap because he was soaked in the real spirit of cricket and I was one who benefited from quite words after a game in which he manufactured my downfall as opposition skipper and then gave me suggestions how to avoid the same fate in future games.
Mike and Cheryl Porter were two of the Warren's oldest friends. Mike spoke lovingly of his mate, with reference to how important he was to Easts but especially of what a wonderful bloke he was.
I got to know him fully when I was part of the committee he chaired which reshaped Armidale cricket in 1981, from changing the name, to creating the five grade structure, to imagining a future where eight strong clubs would play each other in all grades at once … just some of the far reaching changes which bore fruit in the quality of cricket in the decade that followed. There were a plethora of good minds steering Armidale cricket then - big picture thinkers like Kevin Pike, Wes Davis, Bede Ryan and Porter himself - but Brian's dispassionate cool, clear thinking often found the best ways forward. Well do I remember the meeting when the decision was taken to change the Association's name to a more realistic Armidale District Cricket Association from the rather lofty and presumptive New England Cricket Association. That great stalwart Elspeth Howie cut up rough, leaving members speechless and wondering where to look. It was Brian who applied the salve and saw the decision through.
He was an encourager. He saw the best in people, even when it was hidden deep and drew it out. Leadership was instinctive in him. Like Chappelli, he was a skipper who stood resolutely with his players, treating each with respect but brooking no prima donnas. He was quick with praise and clever with correction. A young quick of pace and promise once tried to tell him how to do his job ... he was removed from the bowling crease and spent long stretches of the afternoon watching others take wickets from his spot at fine leg, learning about respect in a way he would not forget. Brian was in most ways, Armidale's equivalent of England's Mike Brearley - thoughtful, insightful, a great student of the game - although I doubt he'd be happy being compared to a Pom!
Where ever Brian was, Lynne was also. Social functions, inclusive of anyone regardless of cap colour, were legend. Everyone admired Brian. Everyone loved Lynne.
Legacy is a funny thing. Some people strive to achieve it, their every move made in order to be remembered. Others just do their thing, move on, do it again and again, leaving things better as they go and a raft of rich, oft retold memories behind. Their wide circle of everlasting friends are suffering and thankful in equal measure.
Our hearts reach out to their sons and their family, their minds conflicted with such warm memories, now robbed of more, in a moment of unpredictable happenstance.
We who love the game have lost a brother.
