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A FORMER treasurer of the old Devon Cricket Association, who is credited with transforming the finances of the organisation, has died aged 79.
Bryan Hayter, a retired bank manager, was DCA and later Devon Cricket Board treasurer from 1991-2004.
Martin Webb, the secretary of the DCB, served on the old DCA executive from 1992 and saw Hayter’s work at close quarters.
Webb (pictured, left) said today’s cricketers in Devon have a lot to thank Hayter for.
“Bryan Hayter single-handedly turned around the finances of the old Devon Cricket Association,” said Webb.
“When he became treasurer he inherited a deficit. By the time the Association became an integral part of the new Board he presented them with a very healthy surplus.
“Bryan would have been delighted to know his legacy remains intact and although he would have been disappointed with its current yield it is still available for the rainy day that hopefully never arrives.
“When I first joined the DCA in 1992, Bryan could not have been more welcoming.
“He was old school, forthright and honest with a delightful sense of humour.
“He became the Board’s first treasurer and he really was one of the unsung heroes of Devon cricket.
“His housekeeping ensured the old DCA continued and indeed prospered. We all owe him a great deal.”
Bryan Hayter, the son of a gardener working on Lord Longcroft’s estate at Langstone near Portsmouth was a grammar school boy who did National Service in Germany and later joined Lloyds Bank.
He worked his way up to manager, arriving in Exeter to live in 1980 when he was appointed to run the branch in Newton Abbot.
Hayter (pictured, right) was more of a watcher than a cricketer. After National Service he played the odd bank or charity game and not a lot else.
“He used to open the batting at school and played a bit during his National Service and once told me his highest score was 28,” said son Ian, who plays for Bideford.
“Having seen him bat in the back garden, I think he might have been exaggerating a bit!
“Dad would bowl his left-arm dibbly dobblers in the back garden to me and my older brother, invariably deceiving us in the flight as we tried to smack the ball over the fence, even though we knew it would have been six and out.
“He never played regularly after National Service. Dad worked long hours, had three children and a large garden to attend to at weekends.
“He took us to many John Player League games on Sunday afternoons – at Taunton and Bristol - instead of playing himself.
Mike Proctor, Barry Richards, Gordon Greenidge, Ian Botham, Viv Richards - Dad took me to see them all and it's thanks to him that cricket is in my blood and I love the game so much still.
“I guess it's fair to say his talents lay not on the pitch, but off it. He never aligned himself with a club, but spent hours watching the game.
“He absolutely loved his cricket and I know was very pleased to be able to help out Devon as treasurer for so long.
“I know he took the role seriously and supported Devon cricket as much as possible and followed the league results closely. He also supported youth cricket games and tournaments, and always seemed to talk about the Bob Whitburn finals days with great pleasure.”
Hayter and his wife or 52 years Barbara, were both diagnosed with lung cancer last year and went to chemotherapy treatment together.
Sadly, Barbara died in January. Bryan spent is final days in a North Devon nursing home, following cricket to the end.
‘He followed England's progress against Pakistan and was particularly grumpy over their performances in the test series,” said Ian.
“The one-dayers cheered him up a bit as he watched them live on my laptop in his hospice bed.”
Always the treasurer, Bryan Hayter has left £1,000 in his will to the Devon Cricket Board to be spent on youth cricket.
His funeral will take place this Friday (March 16) at North Devon Crematorium in Barnstaple (11am). A reception for mourners has been booked at the Commodore Hotel in Instow.
“Dad wanted a free bar so that everyone could have a drink on him,” said Ian.
“After the funeral we’ll be going to the Commodore for drinks and a buffet. If the sun's out, we might even have a game of cricket on the beach. I think he would have approved of that.”
Bryan Hayter leaves behind two sons, a daughter and seven grandchildren.
