Joe Clarke

Joe Clarke came in as a young prodigy from Worcestershire and just after his maiden county stint, the batsman was touted to be England’s long-term solution at the top of the order to open with Alastair Cook. Clarke is a top-order batsman who is blessed with sound technique and also is a prolific gloveman behind the stumps.

Hailing from the age-group system of Worcestershire, Clarke made it into the senior team in 2015 to make his Championship debut at an age of 20. The staggering batsman smashed five hundred in his maiden to earn the call-up for the Lions squad. He toured UAE to become the second-youngest player to make the Lions trip, after Joe Root.

After a couple of successful seasons, the Shropshire-born decided to shift to Nottinghamshire, after signing a four-year contract in 2018. The following year, Clarke was named in the Alex Hepburn case, after which ECB withdrew the batter from the Lions' squad who were on tour in Australia.

However, the scandalous Whatsapp messages case didn’t disturb Clarke’s on-field concentration. Later in 2020, the Englishman signed a deal with Perth Scorchers for the 2020-21 BBL season. He also represented Team Abu Dhabi and Karachi Kings in the 2021 editions of the leagues. 

In 2021, the Manchester Originals drafted the Shropshire cricketer into the squad for the inaugural season of the Hundred. Clarke, who is a dashing stroke-maker and can also keep the wickets, can be a great prospect for new formats such as 'The Hundred'. 

(As of April 2021)