Tributes paid in Chichester and beyond after death of a true Mr Cricket

Richard Briance, who has died aged 89, will be fondly remembered by generations of players for his service to Chichester Priory Park and the wider game.

He held prestigious roles with the MCC and Club Cricket Conference and played for clubs wherever he lived before settling in West Sussex and becoming a player and so much more over many years to Chichester Priory Park CC.

Richard leaves widow Marlene, to whom he had been married for 67 years, sons David and John, daughter Suzanne and four grandchildren.

He was heavily involved in cricket from a young age and when the family moved here in 1973, he joined Chichester Priory Park.

Richard became captain a few years later and his team loved his style of captaincy, especially his use of the spin bowlers in league cricket.

Son David said: “I had the pleasure of opening the batting with him in the first XI in 1979. We did this three or four times that season, then again the following season. He played on and off in the first XI until the 1984 season, when we won the league for the first time.

“After that he played in the lower sides but his main role was cricket manager and he oversaw the senior sides and managed to blend youth and experience in team selections.

“He oversaw the increase in the quality of the cricket produced by all sides while ensuring fun and always upholding the etiquette of the game and its values.”

In 1990 Chi Priory Park won the Sussex Cup against Eastbourne at the County Ground in Hove and David said: “I’m sure I’m not the only one who remembers him running on to the pitch arms aloft when we won off the last ball.

Three league titles in three years followed for the first XI and the seconds also shone.

In the 1970s Richard – whose business interests included running a boyswear clothing company – was instrumental in introducing the annual cricket week to the Chichester club.

Paul Hillier, who knew Richard well from Priory Park days, said he’d remembered ‘The Pres’ as someone who influenced and guided him as a sportsman and importantly, a human being: “Quite simply, a remarkably generous man who provided me and many others with opportunities through cricket that I/they never dreamt possible. His passion was contagious and showed us how hard work and ‘doing the right things’ brought rewards and success.”

David Perrin of the Club Cricket Conference pays tribute to Richard Briance

Richard Briance was widely known in club cricket and was associated with many clubs and teams, a status recognised in 1996 when he was elected that year’s president of the Club Cricket Conference, a century-old federation of cricket clubs in the south.