Kenneth Colin Bland (5 April 1938 – 14 April 2018) was a

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...

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 in 21

Test matches Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (association football) ...

for

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

in the 1960s. He is regarded as one of the greatest fielders in the history of Test cricket.

Cricket career

Colin Bland was educated at Milton High School in

Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; Ndebele: ''Bulawayo'') is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council cl ...

. He made his first-class debut for Rhodesia as a schoolboy against

Peter May Peter May may refer to: *Peter W. May, American businessman *Peter May (cricketer) (1929–1994), English Test cricketer *Peter May (writer) Peter May (born 20 December 1951) is a Scottish television screenwriter, novelist, and crime writer. H ...

's English team in 1956-57 and went on to represent them 55 times from 1956 to 1968.. He later played for the South African provincial sides Eastern Province and

Orange Free State The Orange Free State ( nl, Oranje Vrijstaat; af, Oranje-Vrystaat;) was an independent Boer sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeat ...

. 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 Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

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. Bland's chief fame, though, rested on his fielding. The general consensus is that he was the finest cover fieldsman of his time, and rated by some as the finest fielder ever. His spectacular

run out Run out is a method of dismissal in cricket, governed by Law 38 of the Laws of Cricket. A run out usually occurs when the batsmen are attempting to run between the wickets, and the fielding team succeed in getting the ball to one wicket befo ...

Ken Barrington Kenneth Frank Barrington (24 November 193014 March 1981), was an English international cricketer who played for the England cricket team and Surrey County Cricket Club in the 1950s and 1960s. He was a right-handed batsman and occasional leg-sp ...

in the

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...

Test of 1965, followed by a similar dismissal of Jim Parks, may have prevented England from establishing a match-winning first innings lead, the match eventually being drawn.

Brian Johnston Brian Alexander Johnston (24 June 1912 – 5 January 1994), nicknamed Johnners, was a British cricket commentator, author, and television presenter. He was most prominently associated with the BBC during a career which lasted from 1946 until h ...

recalled of the 1965 tour, "For the first time I heard people saying that they must go to a match especially to watch a fielder." Bland was a

Wisden Cricketer of the Year The ''Wisden'' Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', based primarily on their "influence on the previous English season". The award began in 1889 with the naming ...

in 1966; he is one of only two players so honoured (the other is

Stuart Surridge Stuart Surridge (3 September 1917 – 13 April 1992) was an English first-class cricketer who played for Surrey County Cricket Club, Surrey. Though not known to be a remarkable batsman or bowler, Surridge became one of the most successful team ca ...

) to be depicted in the accompanying portrait fielding, rather than batting, bowling or keeping. When ''

Wisden ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "bible of cricket" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...

'' asked Peter van der Merwe in 1999 to name the five outstanding cricketers of the twentieth century, he included Colin Bland, saying, "He revolutionised the attitude to fielding, and set a standard not yet equalled." Bland retired from Test cricket after injury forced him out of the side after the first Test in 1966–67. He continued to play first-class cricket in South Africa until the 1973–74 season.

Death

On 14 April 2018, Bland died at his home in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

after a prolonged battle with

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel mo ...

References

External links

*
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 {{DEFAULTSORT:Bland, Colin 1938 births 2018 deaths Cricketers from Bulawayo Eastern Province cricketers Free State cricketers Rhodesia cricketers South African Universities cricketers South African cricketers South Africa Test cricketers Wisden Cricketers of the Year White Rhodesian people