Ernest Oswald Blamires (11 June 1881 – 6 June 1963) was a New Zealand

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officia ...

er and

clergyman Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

Life and clerical career

Ernest Blamires was born in

Warrnambool Warrnambool ( Maar: ''Peetoop'' or ''Wheringkernitch'' or ''Warrnambool'') is a city on the south-western coast of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Warrnambool had a population of 35,743. Situated on the Princes Highway, Warrnambool (A ...

, Australia, and went to school at Wesley College in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

, which was then a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

school for boys. He went into commerce on leaving school, but in 1903 he followed his father to New Zealand and became a Methodist minister. He served as a minister for the next 56 years. In

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

he served as a chaplain to the New Zealand forces at Gallipoli. He was General Secretary of the New Zealand Bible in Schools League and wrote the book ''A Christian Core for New Zealand Education'' (1960). His four elder brothers were all ministers. One,

Henry Henry may refer to: People * Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

, played first-class cricket for

Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region ...

. After his first wife died, Blamires married again. He had three daughters, one of whom,

Patricia Patricia is a female given name of Latin origin. Derived from the Latin word ''patrician'', meaning "noble"; it is the feminine form of the masculine given name Patrick. The name Patricia was the second most common female name in the United State ...

, became a prominent actress. He died in hospital in the northern

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

suburb of

Takapuna Takapuna is a suburb located on the North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand. The suburb is situated at the beginning of a south-east-facing peninsula forming the northern side of the Waitematā Harbour. While very small in terms of population, it ...

in June 1963, aged 81.

Cricket career

A hard-hitting batsman, known as "The Cricketing Cleric", Ernest Blamires played for a number of teams as he moved around New Zealand in his work as a minister. He played five first-class matches for

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by m ...

in 1911-12 and 1912–13, captaining the team in one match. While working at

Hāwera Hāwera is the second-largest centre in the Taranaki region of New Zealand's North Island, with a population of . It is near the coast of the South Taranaki Bight. The origins of the town lie in a government military base that was established ...

he played for the South Taranaki team in 1913-14 and 1914–15, twice in the

Hawke Cup The Hawke Cup is a non-first-class cricket competition for New Zealand's district associations. Apart from 1910–11, 1912–13 and 2000–01 the competition has always been on a challenge basis. To win the Hawke Cup, the challengers must beat ...

and once against the touring

Australians Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizens Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the con ...

. He played for

Waikato Waikato () is a local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, t ...

in the Hawke Cup in 1921–22, and for a

Taranaki Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth Dis ...

and

Wanganui Whanganui (; ), also spelled Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whanga ...

team against MCC in 1922–23. Transferring to

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

, Blamires resumed his first-class career at the age of 42, playing for

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

in the 1923–24 season. In his first match, batting at number four, he made 35 and 133 in a victory over

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

. When Otago played the touring

New South Wales cricket team The New South Wales men's cricket team (formerly named NSW Blues) are an Australian men's professional First-class cricket, first class cricket team based in Sydney, New South Wales. The team competes in the Australian first class cricket compe ...

he made 33 and 67 as an opener, and he was selected to play for

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

in their second match against New South Wales. Batting at number three, he made a

pair Pair or PAIR or Pairing may refer to: Government and politics * Pair (parliamentary convention), matching of members unable to attend, so as not to change the voting margin * ''Pair'', a member of the Prussian House of Lords * ''Pair'', the Frenc ...

. He was appointed to captain Otago in 1924–25, and led them to their first

Plunket Shield New Zealand has had a domestic first-class cricket championship since the 1906–07 season. Since the 2009–10 season it has been known by its original name of the Plunket Shield. History The Plunket Shield competition was instigated in Octob ...

championship. Batting at number six, he made 117 in 183 minutes in the match against Wellington. He continued to captain the side in 1925-26 and 1926–27, when he played his last first-class match. Blamires continued playing cricket for some years. In 1929-30 he top-scored for

Wairarapa The Wairarapa (; ), a geographical region of New Zealand, lies in the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay Region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service t ...

against the touring MCC team.

Dick Brittenden Richard Trevor Brittenden (22 August 1919 – 10 June 2002) was from the 1950s to the 1980s New Zealand's most prominent cricket writer. Early life, family and career Brittenden was born at Rakaia on 22 August 1919, and was educated at Chri ...

described Blamires as "an excellent bat" and "a cricketer of considerable resource, hoonce, when playing

Warwick Armstrong Warwick Windridge Armstrong (22 May 1879 – 13 July 1947) was an Australian cricketer who played 50 Test matches between 1902 and 1921. An all-rounder, he captained Australia in ten Test matches between 1920 and 1921, and was undefeated, winni ...

leg theory Leg theory is a bowling tactic in the sport of cricket. The term ''leg theory'' is somewhat archaic, but the basic tactic remains a play in modern cricket. Simply put, leg theory involves concentrating the bowling attack at or near the line of leg ...

, changed from right-hand to left-hand briefly, the better to cope with the situation"R.T. Brittenden, ''Great Days in New Zealand Cricket'', A.H. & A.W. Reed, Wellington, 1958, p. 47. – an early example of the switch hit.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blamires, Ernest 1881 births 1963 deaths New Zealand cricketers Otago cricketers Wellington cricketers Pre-1930 New Zealand representative cricketers New Zealand military chaplains New Zealand Methodist ministers Cricketers from Victoria (Australia) People from Warrnambool People educated at Wesley College (Victoria) Australian emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand military personnel of World War I