Bertie Clarke
Carlos Bertram "Bertie" Clarke, OBE (Order of the British Empire) (7 April 1918 – 14 October 1993) was a West Indian cricketer who played in three Tests in 1939. During the war when three-day cricket was an impossibility due to the demands of labour for the military, Clarke was the leading bowler for the British Empire XI which played one-day matches across the country. He took 98 wickets for 11.48 runs apiece in 1941[1] and bettered this with 129 for 10.17 apiece in 1942.[2]
 Clarke in 1947 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 7 April 1918 Lakes Folly, Barbados | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 14 October 1993 (aged 75) Putney, England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed bat | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Leg break, googly | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Bowler | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National side | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Test debut (cap 46) | 24 June 1939 v England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Test | 19 August 1939 v England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1937–1939 | Barbados | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1949–1949 | Northamptonshire | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1959–1960 | Essex | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: CricketArchive, 1 March 2016 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A fine leg-spinner, he was for a time a guest of the Queen, after which, according to an admiring Leo Cooper, he returned “the same as ever and continued to weave his spells over a host of club cricketers”.[3]
After the war, Clarke played frequently though not regularly for Northamptonshire in 1946 and 1947, and much later for Essex in 1959 and 1960.
References
- Whitaker, Haddon ed. (1942) Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, Seventy-Eighth Edition, p. 142
- Whitaker, Haddon ed. (1943) Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, Seventy-Ninth Edition. p. 156
- Cooper, Leo. "Introduction". Odd Men In. p. viii.
