Alexander James Blake (born 25 January 1989) is an English professional cricketer who played for Kent County Cricket Club between 2007 and 2023. He played as a left-handed batsman who bowled occasionally.[1] Blake was born in Farnborough in Bromley and attended Hayes School before studying at Leeds Metropolitan University.[1] Blake was known as a "brutal limited-overs batsman" and an "athletic" fielder.[1]
 Blake playing for Kent at Beckenham in 2016 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Alexander James Blake | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 25 January 1989 Farnborough, London | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Left-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right-arm medium-fast Right-arm off-spin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2023 | Kent (squad no. 10) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | Oval Invincibles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022/23 | Kathmandu Knights | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022/23 | Dhaka Dominators | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | Cornwall | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FC debut | 28 April 2008 Kent v New Zealanders | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| LA debut | 4 September 2007 Kent v Surrey | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: Cricinfo, 8 October 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cricket career
editBlake was a member of the Kent Cricket Academy and played for the county at age group level before making his debut for the Kent Second XI in 2005.[2][3][4] He was part of the England under-19 team which played in an invitational tri-series in January and February 2007 in Kuala Lumpur. Blake made four under-19 One Day International appearances during the tournament against Malaysia under-19s and Sri Lanka under-19s.[5]
Blake made his List A cricket debut for Kent in the 2007 NatWest Pro40 against Surrey in September 2007,[6] before going on to make his first-class cricket debut for Kent against the touring New Zealanders in April 2008.[1][7] He broke into the County Championship side in 2010 and scored his maiden County Championship century against Yorkshire in the final Championship match of the season.[1][8][9]
In 2015 he scored three half-centuries in Twenty 20 matches,[10] including his best score of 71 not out, scored in 30 balls against Hampshire.[1] Blake scored another two half-centuries in the 2015 Royal London One-Day Cup and recorded a batting average of 62 in the competition.[10] After attracting attention from Sussex,[11] he was awarded a new contract at the end of the 2015 season[1][2][10] and won Kent's One-Day Player of the Year award at the end of the season.[12][13]
After only making one first-class appearance during 2015, Blake returned to the Kent County Championship side during the 2016 season, making eight appearances.[14] He hit three sixes from the only balls he faced to complete a Championship win against Derbyshire in May and hit 66 not out against Surrey in the One-Day Cup, scoring a six from the penultimate ball of the match to secure the win for Kent.[15][16]
In January 2020, Blake signed a new white-ball contract with Kent, becoming the first homegrown player to sign such a deal with county.[17] After the 2023 season his contract was not renewed by Kent, bringing to an end a 17-year professional career with Kent.[18]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g Reid J (ed) 2016 Kent County Cricket Club Annual, Kent County Cricket Club, pp.23–24.
- ^ a b Hoad A (2015) Kent Cricket white ball star Alex Blake agrees new contract at club following speculation about Sussex switch, Kent Online, 2015-09-09. Retrieved 2016-11-20.
- ^ Teams Alex Blake played for, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2016-11-20.
- ^ Kent Cricket Academy Scholars (archived). Retrieved 2007-09-06.
- ^ Under-19 ODI matches played by Alex Blake, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2016-11-20.
- ^ List A matches played by Alex Blake, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2016-11-20.
- ^ First-class matches played by Alex Blake, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2016-11-20.
- ^ Kent on the brink as Yorkshire battle for title, BBC Sport, 2010-09-15. Retrieved 2016-11-20.
- ^ Alex Blake signs new three-year contract with Kent, BBC Sport, 2011-02-16. Retrieved 2016-11-20.
- ^ a b c Alex Blake: Kent batsman signs new contract, BBC Sport, 2015-09-09. Retrieved 2016-11-20.
- ^ Hollis S (2015) Sussex chase Kent batsman Blake, The Argus, 2015-09-08. Retrieved 2016-11-20.
- ^ 'Coles named Kent player of the year for 2015' in Reid J (2015) Op. cit., pp.82–83.
- ^ Beckenham and Bexley stars recognised at Kent cricket awards night, News Shopper, 2015-09-23. Retrieved 2016-11-20.
- ^ First-class batting and fielding in each season by Alex Blake, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2016-11-20.
- ^ County Championship: Kent win after Derbyshire collapse, BBC Sport, 2016-05-25. Retrieved 2016-11-20.
- ^ One-Day Cup: Alex Blake gives Kent victory over Surrey off penultimate ball, BBC Sport, 2016-06-05. Retrieved 2016-11-20.
- ^ Alex Blake: Kent batsman signs new white-ball deal until 2022, BBC Sport, 2020-01-24. Retrieved 2020-07-24.
- ^ Alex Blake & James Logan: Duo to leave Kent at end of 2023 season, BBC Sport, 2023-10-03. Retrieved 2023-10-08.