Colin Bland
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Full name | Kenneth Colin Bland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia | 5 April 1938|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Died | 14 April 2018 London, England | (aged 80)|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Batting | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bowling | Right-arm medium | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
International information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
National side | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Test debut | 8 December 1961 v New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Last Test | 23 December 1966 v Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: CricInfo, 3 December 2020 |
Kenneth Colin Bland (5 April 1938 – 14 April 2018) was a Rhodesian cricketer who played in 21 Test matches for South Africa in the 1960s.[1] He is regarded as one of the greatest fielders in the history of Test cricket.[2]
Cricket career
Colin Bland was educated at
A tall and elegant right-handed batsman, Bland broke into the South African Test team in 1961, and was a regular until 1966–67. As South Africa in the apartheid era played Test cricket only against England, Australia and New Zealand, his career was restricted to just 21 Tests, in which he scored 1,669 runs, including three centuries. His highest Test score came in the Second Test against England at Johannesburg in 1964–65; South Africa followed on 214 behind, and were 109 for 4 in the second innings when Bland came in and hit 144 not out in just over four hours to save the match.[5]
Bland's chief claim to fame, though, rested on his
Bland was a
Bland retired from Test cricket after injury forced him out of the side after the first Test in 1966–67.[1] He continued to play first-class cricket in South Africa until the 1973–74 season.[1]
Death
On 14 April 2018, Bland died at his home in London after a prolonged battle with colon cancer.[9]
References
- ^ a b c d "Former SA allrounder Colin Bland dies aged 80". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
- ^ "Tony's Trini heroics". ESPN Cricinfo. 31 March 2008. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
- ^ Glen Byrom, ed. (1980), Rhodesian Sports Profiles 1907–1979, Bulawayo: Books of Zimbabwe, pp. 55–59.
- ^ "Colin Bland". www.cricketarchive.com. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
- ^ Wisden 1966, p. 807.
- ISBN 0-85613-283-7.
- ^ Brian Johnston, A Delicious Slice of Johnners, Virgin, 2001, p.147.
- ^ Matthew Engel, "Five Cricketers of the Century: How They Were Chosen", Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 2000, p.19.
- ^ "South Africa cricket hero Colin Bland passes away, aged 80". Cricbuzz. 16 April 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
External links
- Colin Bland at ESPNcricinfo
- A brief biography of Colin Bland
- "The Golden Eagle" by Martin Chandler
- Colin Bland, the South African who was a pioneer of fielding, dies aged 80, Telegraph, Retrieved 20 April 2018