South Africa players and officials - select an initial letter: -
A -
B -
C -
D -
E -
F -
G -
H -
I -
J -
K -
L -
M -
N -
O -
P -
Q -
R -
S -
T -
U -
V -
W -
X -
Y -
Z
Full name Kenneth Colin Bland
Born April 5, 1938, Bulawayo, Rhodesia
Current age 70 years 192 days
Major teams Rhodesia,South Africa,Eastern Province,Orange Free State
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm medium
Other Coach
Batting and fielding averages
Mat
Inns
NO
Runs
HS
Ave
100
50
6s
Ct
St
Tests
21
39
5
1669
144*
49.08
3
9
20
10
0
First-class
131
219
28
7249
197
37.95
13
34
51
0
List A
4
4
0
138
69
34.50
0
1
1
0
Bowling averages
Mat
Inns
Balls
Runs
Wkts
BBI
BBM
Ave
Econ
SR
4w
5w
10
Tests
21
12
394
125
2
2/16
2/17
62.50
1.90
197.0
0
0
0
First-class
131
3508
1517
43
4/40
35.27
2.59
81.5
0
0
List A
4
174
138
3
1/38
1/38
46.00
4.75
58.0
0
0
0
Career statistics
Test debut
South Africa v New Zealand at Durban, Dec 8-12, 1961 scorecard
Last Test
South Africa v Australia at Johannesburg, Dec 23-28, 1966 scorecard
Test statistics
First-class span
1956/57 - 1973/74
List A span
1969/70 - 1972/73
Profile
Bulawayo-born Colin Bland will go down in cricket history as one of the greatest cover fielders. He combined speed, perfect balance and a quite exceptional throwing arm, and thrilled spectators and intimidated opposing batsmen in equal measure. Even in the modern era, when outstanding fielders are more commonplace, Bland would have stood out. He honed his skills by endless practice throwing at a single stump, and later on he used this to show off his skills to the public during team fielding sessions . Much as was the case with Jonty Rhodes in the 1990s, even if Bland did not perform with the bat, he was worth an extra 20-30 runs for his fielding alone. But he could bat, even if he was often undone by a tendency to try and loft the ball bacl over the bowler's head. In 1963-64 in Australia he scored 126 at Sydney, ending the series with 367 runs at 61.16, and followed with 207 runs at 69.00 in New Zealand. Against England in 1964-65 he was again at his best, hammering 144 at Johannesburg and his 572 runs came at 71.50. In England the following summer he made 906 runs, including 286 at 47.66 in the three Tests. On that tour, which was South Africa's last series against England for 29 years, Bland's fielding was a revelation wherever he went, and his run-outs of Ken Barrington and Jim Parks at Lord's turned the match. His Test career ended tragically at Johannesburg against Australia in 1966-67, when he crashed into a boundary fence while chasing the ball, badly damaging his left knee. In domestic cricket he was no less popular, and equally effective. In 1967-68 he smashed 197 in three hours for Rhodesia against Border in a low-scoring match on a poor wicket which highlighted his class. He was also a very useful medium-fast right-arm bowler who was probably underused. Martin Williamson
