Colin Francis Blades (born 13 August 1944) is a former West Indian

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er who played both for

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

in West Indian domestic cricket and for

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...

internationally. He captained Bermuda at the

1982 ICC Trophy The 1982 ICC Trophy was a limited-overs cricket tournament held in England between 16 June and 10 July 1982. It was the second ICC Trophy tournament to be staged, with matches between the 16 participating teams played over 60 overs a side and w ...

, where he was also the overall leading run-scorer. Blades was born in Saint Philip Parish,

. He made his first-class debut in February 1964, playing for Barbados against

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies, which resides on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first European to encounter Guiana was S ...

. After his debut, Blades did not feature for Barbados again until the

1968–69 Shell Shield season The 1968–69 Shell Shield season was the third edition of what is now the Regional Four Day Competition, the domestic first-class cricket competition for the countries of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB). The tournament was sponsored by Roya ...

, when he played in all four of his team's matches.First-class matches played by Colin Blades
– CricketArchive. Retrieved 3 February 2016. Against

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

, he made what was to be his highest first-class score, 75 runs from third in the batting order (including ten fours and a six). During the 1969 English season, Blades appeared twice for

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

in the

Second XI Championship The Second XI Championship is a season-long cricket competition in England that is competed for by the reserve teams of those county cricket clubs that have first-class status. The competition started in 1959 and has been contested annually ever ...

. Later in the season, he also played in several exhibition games for the

International Cavaliers The International Cavaliers were an ''ad hoc'' cricket team made up of famous cricketers in order to encourage local cricket. Their teams included many prominent cricketers from the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s and 1970s as many retired veterans and talente ...

(including against the touring New Zealanders).Miscellaneous matches played by Colin Blades
– CricketArchive. Retrieved 3 February 2016. He eventually joined up with the Barbadian squad that was on its own tour of England, playing two first-class matches (against

and the Cavaliers) and a one-day fixture (against

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

). Having played his last games for Barbados during the 1969–70 season, Blades moved to Bermuda in the early 1970s. He is first recorded as playing for the Bermudian national side in 1975, when he represented the team against Jamaica. In 1979, Blades was selected for Bermuda in the inaugural edition of the

ICC Trophy The ICC World Cup Qualifier (previously called the ICC Trophy and officially known as the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Qualifier) is a One-Day International (ODI) cricket tournament that serves as the culmination of the Cricket World Cup qualifi ...

.ICC Trophy matches played by Colin Blades
– CricketArchive. Retrieved 3 February 2016. He was one of six members of the squad with first-class experience, the others being Joseph Bailey,

Noel Gibbons Noel Gibbons (born 1 December 1956 in Bermuda) is a former Bermudian cricketer. He was a right-handed batsman and right-arm medium pace bowler. He played one first-class match for Bermuda, against New Zealand in 1972, scoring five runs in the m ...

, Clarence Parfitt,

Lionel Thomas Lionel Eustace Thomas (born 19 February 1946) is a former West Indian cricketer who played both for the Leeward Islands in West Indian domestic cricket and for Bermuda internationally. Thomas was born in Saint Kitts, then part of the British Lee ...

, and

Winston Trott Winston Trott (born 10 August 1944 in Bermuda) is a former Bermudian cricketer. He was a right-handed batsman and a left-arm medium-fast bowler. He played one first-class match for Bermuda, against New Zealand in 1972, taking four wickets in New ...

. His biggest contribution at the tournament was as a bowler, with his best performances being 1/3 from 12 overs against

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

and 2/14 from 12 overs in the semi-final against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. For the

, Blades was named Bermuda's captain, aged 37. He finished the tournament as the overall leading run-scorer, making 310 runs from eight matches (including innings of 69 not out against

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

and 82 not out against

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...

). Bermuda made the tournament's final for the first and only time, but lost to

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

, narrowly missing out on qualifying for the 1983 World Cup.Bermuda v Zimbabwe
ICC Trophy 1982 (Final) – CricketArchive. Retrieved 3 February 2016.

References

External links

a
CricketArchive

a
ESPNcricinfo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blades, Colin 1944 births Living people Barbadian cricketers Barbados cricketers Bermudian cricketers International Cavaliers cricketers Barbadian emigrants to Bermuda People from Saint Philip, Barbados