In 1920, playing his first match of senior club cricket in Wellington for Old Boys, he scored 108.
He was the first player to score a century on debut in Wellington senior cricket.
[1] He played for Wellington for some seasons with one outstanding performance, when he took 6 for 65 and 4 for 49 in the victory over Otago in the Plunket Shield in 1921–22.
[5][6] At his death after a short illness in 1959, Barclay was district administration officer in the Lands and Survey Department at New Plymouth.
[9] Colin and his brother Laurie also played Hawke Cup cricket for Taranaki.