Warren Lees
The tough-as-nails wicketkeeper who anchored New Zealand's cricket team through the turbulent 1980s and later returned as its national coach.
Born 1952 (age 74)·New Zealand cricketer·Birthday: March 19·Baby Boomers
Biography
Warren Lees represented a certain breed of New Zealand cricketer: unglamorous, resilient, and defined by grit. Emerging in the late 1970s, he took the wicketkeeping gloves during a period when the national team was forging a harder, more competitive identity. Lees was no flamboyant strokemaker; his value was in his stubbornness with the bat in the lower order and his reliable work behind the stumps, often to the formidable pace of Richard Hadlee. He was part of the squad that secured New Zealand's first-ever Test victory in Australia in 1985, a landmark moment. After retirement, he transitioned into coaching, applying his no-nonsense attitude to the national side from 1990 to 1993. His tenure was pragmatic, focusing on discipline and fundamentals. While his time as coach didn't yield a trophy cabinet, Lees remained a respected figure—a link between the amateur past and the professional future, a man whose career was built not on genius, but on dependable competence.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Warren was born in 1952, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Warren Was Born
The biggest hits of 1952
#1 Movie
The Greatest Show on Earth
Best Picture
The Greatest Show on Earth
#1 TV Show
I Love Lucy
Warren's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1952Born
Queen Elizabeth II ascends the throne
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,350Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Blue Tango" — Leroy AndersonBest Picture: The Greatest Show on Earth
1957Started school
Sputnik launches the Space Age
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $10,550Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"All Shook Up" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: The Bridge on the River Kwai
1965Became a teenager
US sends combat troops to Vietnam
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,600Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" — The Rolling StonesBest Picture: The Sound of Music
1968Could drive
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1970Could vote
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1973Turned 21
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1982Turned 30
Michael Jackson releases Thriller
Gas: $1.22/galHome: $55,200Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Physical" — Olivia Newton-JohnBest Picture: Gandhi
1992Turned 40
LA riots after Rodney King verdict
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $84,300Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"End of the Road" — Boyz II MenBest Picture: Unforgiven
2002Turned 50
Euro currency enters circulation
Gas: $1.36/galHome: $137,800Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"How You Remind Me" — NickelbackBest Picture: Chicago
2012Turned 60
Curiosity rover lands on Mars; Sandy Hook shooting
Gas: $3.64/galHome: $143,200Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Somebody That I Used to Know" — GotyeBest Picture: Argo
2022Turned 70
Russia invades Ukraine; Queen Elizabeth II dies
Gas: $3.97/galHome: $348,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"As It Was" — Harry StylesBest Picture: Everything Everywhere All at Once
2026Age 74 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Played 21 Test matches and 31 One Day Internationals for New Zealand as wicket-keeper between 1976 and 1983.
- Served as head coach of the New Zealand national cricket team from 1990 to 1993.
- Was a member of the New Zealand team that secured its first-ever Test series win in Australia in 1985.
- Recorded 57 dismissals (catches and stumpings) in his Test match career.
Did You Know?
He made his first-class debut for Otago at the age of 18.
After his coaching career, he served as a national selector for New Zealand Cricket.
He was known for his distinctive handlebar mustache during his playing days.
Lees worked as a development officer for the New Zealand Cricket Council after retiring as a player.
“You don't keep wicket for the glory; you keep it to stop every single ball.”
