Edward Clark (cricketer)
Encyclopedia
Edward Winchester 'Nobby' Clark (born 9 August 1902, Elton, Huntingdonshire, died 28 April 1982, King's Lynn
, Norfolk
) was a Northamptonshire
cricketer of the inter-war period during which they were one of the weakest counties ever to play in the County Championship
. Nonetheless, Clark, a bowler of genuine pace who could swing the ball in and make it break away to produce catches in the slips, was regarded in his prime as one of the best fast bowlers in England. He could also bowl, as Bill Voce
did under Jardine
, to a leg-side field, but was never as effective doing so despite his beautiful action. Like Voce, Clark often bowled round the wicket.
At his best, "Nobby" Clark was the fastest professional bowler apart from Harold Larwood
and his beautiful action enabled him to stand up to the considerable spells of work required of him given that Northamptonshire had little support in the field apart from Fred Bakewell
at short leg.
However, his fiery temperament that would get angry over even slight problems like broken footholds or missed chances greatly reduced Clark's appeal to selectors for Test
and other representative matches. "Nobby"'s extreme weakness as a batsman further reduced his chances of competing with players who were much better bats and could bowl almost as well. Between July 1925 and June 1927 Clark played sixty-five innings without reaching double figures and he never made more than 30 in a first-class innings.
Clark was born near Peterborough and first played for Northamptonshire as a teenager in 1922 after success in Yorkshire League cricket. He came to prominence in 1925, when he took eleven wickets in a surprise win over Kent
and was in the top twenty of the national averages.
Despite playing in the 1928 Test Trial, injury meant he was not seriously in contention for a place on the Ashes tour.
1929, however, saw "Nobby" bounce right back to miss 150 wickets by only one and play his first Test at Kennington Oval, where he was criticised for overdoing leg-theory. The extreme financial difficulties faced by Northamptonshire - at one point the club was poised to exit the first-class arena - caused "Nobby" Clark to leave in July 1930 for league cricket. He returned to the county in 1932.
Clark, in early 1933, bowled as fast and as well as he ever had done. In the first match against the touring West Indians he took ten for 61 and in his first six matches 52 wickets for 574 runs. However, after that he was affected by injury but he still took eleven wickets in his two Tests and was chosen for the first Test-playing tour of India that winter.
1934 was again plagued by injury, but "Nobby" was still thought so highly of that he played in two Tests against Australia. At Old Trafford he bowled well on one of the most docile of pitches but had no luck, but in the last Test at the Oval he took five for 98 including the valuable scalps of Brown
, Ponsford
, McCabe
and Kippax
. He also failed twice by the narrowest of margins to bowl Don Bradman.
1935 saw "Nobby" play a lone hand with his bowling for a Northamptonshire side growing weaker and weaker by the year: they lost thirteen consecutive matches in the second half of the season, in several of which "Nobby"'s bowling gave them the upper hand only for feeble batting to ruin their advantage. He would have played in the Old Trafford Test against the South Africans but for yet another injury, but, though he bowled well in an unfavourably wet summer in 1936, his age was already making it hard to maintain speed beyond a few overs and he was never considered for a Test place.
It was still a surprise, though, when Clark in 1937 declined so much apart from one haul of six for 29 against Essex
that Northamptonshire, already so weak that they had not won any of their last 71 county matches, decided not to re-engage him. Though he was forty-three, Northamptonshire surprisingly re-engaged "Nobby" after the war in 1946 and he showed himself still the fastest bowler for four or five overs in England. He was, however, quite naturally unable to bowl any long spell and consequently he did nothing exceptional. 1947 saw him play about half the matches before he retired for good as Northamptonshire's greatest-ever wicket-taker.
King's Lynn
King's Lynn is a sea port and market town in the ceremonial county of Norfolk in the East of England. It is situated north of London and west of Norwich. The population of the town is 42,800....
, Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
) was a Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire County Cricket Club
Northamptonshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Northamptonshire. Its limited overs team is called the Northants Steelbacks. The traditional club colour is Maroon. During the...
cricketer of the inter-war period during which they were one of the weakest counties ever to play in the County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
. Nonetheless, Clark, a bowler of genuine pace who could swing the ball in and make it break away to produce catches in the slips, was regarded in his prime as one of the best fast bowlers in England. He could also bowl, as Bill Voce
Bill Voce
Bill Voce was an English cricketer. He played for the Nottinghamshire and England, and was an instrumental part of England's infamous Bodyline tour of Australia in 1932–1933.-Life and career:...
did under Jardine
Douglas Jardine
Douglas Robert Jardine was an English cricketer and captain of the England cricket team from 1931 to 1933–34.When describing cricket seasons, the convention used is that a single year represents an English cricket season, while two years represent a southern hemisphere cricket season because it...
, to a leg-side field, but was never as effective doing so despite his beautiful action. Like Voce, Clark often bowled round the wicket.
At his best, "Nobby" Clark was the fastest professional bowler apart from Harold Larwood
Harold Larwood
Harold Larwood was an English cricket player, an extremely accurate fast bowler best known for his key role as the implementer of fast leg theory in the infamous "bodyline" Ashes Test series of 1932–33....
and his beautiful action enabled him to stand up to the considerable spells of work required of him given that Northamptonshire had little support in the field apart from Fred Bakewell
Fred Bakewell
Fred Bakewell was a Northamptonshire and England opening batsman who was renowned as one of the most exciting players of his time, largely owing to his unorthodox methods, which allowed him to play some of the most brilliant innings in county cricket, despite the...
at short leg.
However, his fiery temperament that would get angry over even slight problems like broken footholds or missed chances greatly reduced Clark's appeal to selectors for Test
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
and other representative matches. "Nobby"'s extreme weakness as a batsman further reduced his chances of competing with players who were much better bats and could bowl almost as well. Between July 1925 and June 1927 Clark played sixty-five innings without reaching double figures and he never made more than 30 in a first-class innings.
Clark was born near Peterborough and first played for Northamptonshire as a teenager in 1922 after success in Yorkshire League cricket. He came to prominence in 1925, when he took eleven wickets in a surprise win over Kent
Kent County Cricket Club
Kent County Cricket Club is one of the 18 first class county county cricket clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the county of Kent...
and was in the top twenty of the national averages.
Despite playing in the 1928 Test Trial, injury meant he was not seriously in contention for a place on the Ashes tour.
1929, however, saw "Nobby" bounce right back to miss 150 wickets by only one and play his first Test at Kennington Oval, where he was criticised for overdoing leg-theory. The extreme financial difficulties faced by Northamptonshire - at one point the club was poised to exit the first-class arena - caused "Nobby" Clark to leave in July 1930 for league cricket. He returned to the county in 1932.
Clark, in early 1933, bowled as fast and as well as he ever had done. In the first match against the touring West Indians he took ten for 61 and in his first six matches 52 wickets for 574 runs. However, after that he was affected by injury but he still took eleven wickets in his two Tests and was chosen for the first Test-playing tour of India that winter.
1934 was again plagued by injury, but "Nobby" was still thought so highly of that he played in two Tests against Australia. At Old Trafford he bowled well on one of the most docile of pitches but had no luck, but in the last Test at the Oval he took five for 98 including the valuable scalps of Brown
Bill Brown (cricketer)
William Alfred "Bill" Brown, OAM was an Australian cricketer who played 22 Tests between 1934 and 1948, captaining his country in one Test. A right-handed opening batsman, his partnership with Jack Fingleton in the 1930s is regarded as one of the finest in Australian Test history...
, Ponsford
Bill Ponsford
William Harold "Bill" Ponsford MBE was an Australian cricketer. Usually playing as an opening batsman, he formed a successful and long-lived partnership opening the batting for Victoria and Australia with Bill Woodfull, his friend and state and national captain...
, McCabe
Stan McCabe
Stanley Joseph McCabe was an Australian cricketer who played 39 Test matches for Australia from 1930 to 1938. A short, stocky right-hander,...
and Kippax
Alan Kippax
Alan Falconer Kippax was a cricketer for New South Wales and Australia. Regarded as one of the great stylists of Australian cricket during the era between the two World Wars, Kippax overcame a late start to Test cricket to become a regular in the Australian team between the 1928–29 and...
. He also failed twice by the narrowest of margins to bowl Don Bradman.
1935 saw "Nobby" play a lone hand with his bowling for a Northamptonshire side growing weaker and weaker by the year: they lost thirteen consecutive matches in the second half of the season, in several of which "Nobby"'s bowling gave them the upper hand only for feeble batting to ruin their advantage. He would have played in the Old Trafford Test against the South Africans but for yet another injury, but, though he bowled well in an unfavourably wet summer in 1936, his age was already making it hard to maintain speed beyond a few overs and he was never considered for a Test place.
It was still a surprise, though, when Clark in 1937 declined so much apart from one haul of six for 29 against Essex
Essex County Cricket Club
Essex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Essex. Its limited overs team is called the Essex Eagles, their team colours this season are blue.The club plays most of its home games...
that Northamptonshire, already so weak that they had not won any of their last 71 county matches, decided not to re-engage him. Though he was forty-three, Northamptonshire surprisingly re-engaged "Nobby" after the war in 1946 and he showed himself still the fastest bowler for four or five overs in England. He was, however, quite naturally unable to bowl any long spell and consequently he did nothing exceptional. 1947 saw him play about half the matches before he retired for good as Northamptonshire's greatest-ever wicket-taker.