[6] A hard-hitting batsman, known as "The Cricketing Cleric",[7] Ernest Blamires played for a number of teams as he moved around New Zealand in his work as a minister.

[10] While working at Hāwera, Blamires played for the South Taranaki team in 1913–14 and 1914–15, twice in the Hawke Cup and once against the touring Australians.

[11] He played for Waikato in the Hawke Cup in 1921–22, and for a combined Taranaki and Wanganui team against MCC in 1922–23.

Transferring to Dunedin, Blamires resumed his first-class career at the age of 42, playing for Otago in the 1923–24 season.

[15] Dick Brittenden described Blamires as "an excellent bat" and "a cricketer of considerable resource, [who] once, when playing Warwick Armstrong's leg theory, changed from right-hand to left-hand briefly, the better to cope with the situation"[16] – an early example of the switch hit.