Ex-St Catherine’s all-rounder dies at 58
FORMER LONG-STANDING St Catherine’s Club all-rounder Roger Blades, who represented Bermuda in seven List A matches has died at the age of 58 after a brief illness.
Blades, a past student of Combermere and employee at Republic Bank (former Barbados National Bank), passed away last week at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
A hard-hitting right-handed batsman and nippy fast-medium swing bowler, Blades played for St Catherine’s in the 1980s and early 1990s before joining the Bermuda Police Force.
He represented Bermuda in the 1997-1998 Red Stripe Bowl and the International Cricket Council (ICC)
Carlsberg Trophy in Malaysia in 1997. His best List A bowling figures were four for 30 but he was a prolific wicket-taker in the Barbados Cricket Association’s (BCA) Division One (now Elite) competition.
On his return to Barbados, Blades continued playing for the Bayfieldbased, St Philip cricket club in the BCA competitions.
He was a part a lethal St Catherine’s pace attack with the likes of Dayne Maynard, Junior Parris, Brian Shepherd and Victor Skeete.
In paying tribute to Blades, the Bermuda Ex-Police Association said he was “an outstanding allround cricketer” and “a key player” for the Police team in the 1990s when they dominated club cricket.
Blades represented the Bermuda Police team at the 1996 International Police Cricket Tournament in England and in 1998 in his native Barbados when he was Player of the Series. He also played in the Bermuda’s Cup Match for Somerset.
“This is especially tragic news to our Police cricket team fraternity and to all cricket lovers in Bermuda as it comes shortly after the passing of another of our great Barbadian cricketers, Tyrone Smith. They will both be fondly remembered and sorely missed.”
(EZS)
ROGER BLADES (GP)
