Stuart Clark
Encyclopedia
Stuart Rupert Clark is an Australian International cricket
er who plays domestic cricket for the New South Wales Blues
. He plays as a right-arm fast-medium bowler. Similarities between his bowling style and that of Sarfraz Nawaz
have led to him being nicknamed "Sarfraz".
parents, his father Bruce Clark who is from Madras (now Chennai) was a student at Christ Church Anglo Indian-High School
Madras, and his mother Mary Clark (née
Boosey) is from the Kolar Gold Fields
, Karnataka
, India; her family is a famous sporting family.
Clark has a Master of Commerce, and is about to complete a Bachelor of Laws at the University of Sydney
: amongst other units, he is studying Legal Profession and Introduction to Property and Commercial Law. He worked as a real estate agent for 5 years before he pursued cricket. He recently completed Public Law in Summer School at the University of Sydney. He is married to Michelle and they have two children Lachlan and Sophie.
He is also a football (soccer) fan and supports Manchester United.
debut with the New South Wales Blues
on 4 February 1998 against Tasmania
at the Sydney Cricket Ground
. He had a poor debut season, taking only 4 wickets at an average of 76.75. The 1998–99 season also saw Clark struggle as he took only 2 wickets at an average of 220.50. After his first 7 first-class matches, Clark averaged 124.66 with the ball. His poor performances led to him being dropped during the 1998–99 season and he did not play a first-class match for over 2 years.
Clark returned for New South Wales in the 2000–01 season and enjoyed a solid comeback season, taking 8 wickets at 25.75 in the 3 matches he played. After these performances, he retained his place in the side for 2001–02, a season which would prove to be his breakthrough one. Clark played 9 matches in the season, taking 45 wickets at an average of 23.26. He claimed four 5 wicket hauls and finished second behind Australian paceman Michael Kasprowicz
in the leading wicket-takers list. With a promotion to a national contract, Clark had another strong season for New South Wales in 2002–03 securing 30 wickets at an average of 30.33. While the 2003–04 season was less successful for Clark, taking 23 wickets at 38.26, 2004–05 saw a return to form as he took 40 wickets at 24.77. Clark only played 4 matches for New South Wales in the 2005–06 season yet still managed to take 17 wickets at 22.05.
Clark's full-time call up to the national team in 2006–07 also saw him play fewer matches in the 2006–07 domestic season, yet the three matches he played saw him take 21 wickets at 14.47. During this season, Clark recorded his highest ever first-class score with 62 off 43 balls against South Australia
at the Adelaide Oval
. Clark bought up his half-century off 34 balls and his innings included 4 sixes and 3 fours. In the same match, Clark claimed his best ever first-class figures at the time, taking 6/39 in South Australia's second innings. In the next match he played for New South Wales, Clark exceeded these figures by taking 8/58 against Western Australia
at the WACA Ground
. Clark ended up taking 10 wickets for the match, and his first innings figures included a hat-trick
, as he took the wickets of Marcus North
, Adam Voges
and Steve Magoffin
in successive deliveries to reduce Western Australia to 4/2.
for Middlesex in England in 2005
.
He played for Hampshire
in the 2007 English cricket season
.
, in a shock decision, he was called into the Australian cricket team
squad for the fourth and fifth Tests
covering for Glenn McGrath
and Brett Lee
after they both suffered injuries; however, both McGrath and Lee overcame the injuries early and went on to play. Australian
Chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns
said: We consider Stuart to be a similar style bowler to Glenn McGrath ... he is already in England and showing some good form, so we have selected him to provide some cover for the current injuries.
but did not play in the first match on 5 October. He made his debut later in that series, and also played against New Zealand in the 05/06 Chappell-Hadlee series. He had vindicated the decision of the selectors somewhat with his solid performances in the ODI arena, however many fans expressed disbelief at the fact that Clark was selected ahead of players such as Paul Rofe
, Mick Lewis
, Jason Gillespie
and Andrew Bichel who had been performing to a higher standard at state level. On 23 February 2007, Clark was named in the Australian World Cup Squad as a replacement for the injured Brett Lee
(who was attending his sick wife Jane) for the tour of South Africa. He made his debut in the first Test at Cape Town. Clark had an immediate impact on the game, dismissing Graeme Smith early in South Africa's innings, on his way to five wickets. He captured another four in the second innings, to finish with match figures of 9/89 and the player of the match award.
In the second Test at Durban, he took four wickets, and in the third Test at Johannesburg, he returned figures of 3/81 and 4/34. Altogether, he was the leading wicket-taker of the series with 20 wickets (at 15.85 average) and was voted player of the series.
As expected Clark warranted selection for the Australian tour of Bangladesh which followed immediately after the South African whitewash However it was a forgettable tour for Clark who managed to pick up just one wicket in the first innings, and was overshadowed by recalled veteran Jason Gillespie. Clark was "released from duty" for the second Test as the Australian selectors decided to replace him with budding spinner Dan Cullen
in Chittagong. However at the time, media reports stated that Clark was given compassionate leave to attend the birth of his son – Clark later suggested that the "rest" was not necessary in any case. However by the end of the Bangladesh series, Clark maintained his spot above Jason Gillespie in the pecking order of Australian fast bowlers.
He ended the series with the most wickets (with 26 at an average of 17) and best strike rate of all bowlers, surpassing even retiring greats Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne.
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er who plays domestic cricket for the New South Wales Blues
New South Wales Blues
The New South Wales cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team based in Sydney, New South Wales...
. He plays as a right-arm fast-medium bowler. Similarities between his bowling style and that of Sarfraz Nawaz
Sarfraz Nawaz
Sarfraz Nawaz Malik is a former Pakistani Test cricketer and politician who discovered reverse swing and was instrumental in Pakistan's first Test series victories over India and England. Between 1969 and 1984 he played 55 Tests and 45 One Day Internationals and was Imran Khan's regular new ball...
have led to him being nicknamed "Sarfraz".
Personal life
Stuart is the son of Anglo-IndianAnglo-Indian
Anglo-Indians are people who have mixed Indian and British ancestry, or people of British descent born or living in India, now mainly historical in the latter sense. British residents in India used the term "Eurasians" for people of mixed European and Indian descent...
parents, his father Bruce Clark who is from Madras (now Chennai) was a student at Christ Church Anglo Indian-High School
Christ Church Anglo-Indian Higher Secondary School
Christ Church Anglo-Indian higher Secondary School is located in Anna Salai, Chennai, India.-History:The first of the congregations is that of Christ Church and its school...
Madras, and his mother Mary Clark (née
NEE
NEE is a political protest group whose goal was to provide an alternative for voters who are unhappy with all political parties at hand in Belgium, where voting is compulsory.The NEE party was founded in 2005 in Antwerp...
Boosey) is from the Kolar Gold Fields
Kolar Gold Fields
Kolar Gold Fields is a town in Bangarpet Taluk, in the Kolar District of Karnataka state, India. It includes the township of the same name, viz. KGF, where reside mainly the families of the employees of BGML. To the east of KGF is a ridge of hills of which Dod Betta hill, 3195 feet above sea...
, Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
, India; her family is a famous sporting family.
Clark has a Master of Commerce, and is about to complete a Bachelor of Laws at the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
: amongst other units, he is studying Legal Profession and Introduction to Property and Commercial Law. He worked as a real estate agent for 5 years before he pursued cricket. He recently completed Public Law in Summer School at the University of Sydney. He is married to Michelle and they have two children Lachlan and Sophie.
He is also a football (soccer) fan and supports Manchester United.
New South Wales
Clark made his first-classFirst-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
debut with the New South Wales Blues
New South Wales Blues
The New South Wales cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team based in Sydney, New South Wales...
on 4 February 1998 against Tasmania
Tasmanian Tigers
The Tasmanian cricket team, nicknamed the Tigers, represents the Australian state of Tasmania in cricket tournaments. They compete annually in the Australian domestic senior men's cricket season, which currently consists of the first-class Sheffield Shield, the limited overs Ford Ranger Cup, and...
at the Sydney Cricket Ground
Sydney Cricket Ground
The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian...
. He had a poor debut season, taking only 4 wickets at an average of 76.75. The 1998–99 season also saw Clark struggle as he took only 2 wickets at an average of 220.50. After his first 7 first-class matches, Clark averaged 124.66 with the ball. His poor performances led to him being dropped during the 1998–99 season and he did not play a first-class match for over 2 years.
Clark returned for New South Wales in the 2000–01 season and enjoyed a solid comeback season, taking 8 wickets at 25.75 in the 3 matches he played. After these performances, he retained his place in the side for 2001–02, a season which would prove to be his breakthrough one. Clark played 9 matches in the season, taking 45 wickets at an average of 23.26. He claimed four 5 wicket hauls and finished second behind Australian paceman Michael Kasprowicz
Michael Kasprowicz
Michael Scott Kasprowicz is a former Australian Test cricketer. He is a right arm fast bowler, effective outfielder and useful lower order batsman, and has enjoyed a successful career both in Australia and in the English county scene since making his debut for Queensland as a seventeen year old in...
in the leading wicket-takers list. With a promotion to a national contract, Clark had another strong season for New South Wales in 2002–03 securing 30 wickets at an average of 30.33. While the 2003–04 season was less successful for Clark, taking 23 wickets at 38.26, 2004–05 saw a return to form as he took 40 wickets at 24.77. Clark only played 4 matches for New South Wales in the 2005–06 season yet still managed to take 17 wickets at 22.05.
Clark's full-time call up to the national team in 2006–07 also saw him play fewer matches in the 2006–07 domestic season, yet the three matches he played saw him take 21 wickets at 14.47. During this season, Clark recorded his highest ever first-class score with 62 off 43 balls against South Australia
Southern Redbacks
The South Australia cricket team, nicknamed the Southern Redbacks and known as the West End Redbacks due to their sponsorship agreement with local brewers West End, are an Australian first class cricket team based in Adelaide, South Australia, and represent the state of South Australia...
at the Adelaide Oval
Adelaide Oval
The Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the Central Business District and North Adelaide...
. Clark bought up his half-century off 34 balls and his innings included 4 sixes and 3 fours. In the same match, Clark claimed his best ever first-class figures at the time, taking 6/39 in South Australia's second innings. In the next match he played for New South Wales, Clark exceeded these figures by taking 8/58 against Western Australia
Western Warriors
The Western Australia cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team representing the state of Western Australia...
at the WACA Ground
WACA Ground
The WACA is a sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia. WACA are the initials of its owners and operators, the Western Australian Cricket Association....
. Clark ended up taking 10 wickets for the match, and his first innings figures included a hat-trick
Hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick in sport is the achievement of a positive feat three times during a game, or other achievements based on threes. The term was first used in 1858 in cricket to describe HH Stephenson's feat of taking three wickets in three balls. A collection was held for Stephenson, and he...
, as he took the wickets of Marcus North
Marcus North
Marcus James North is an Australian cricketer, who scored centuries on both his Test and Ashes debuts. He has also played for the Australian Cricket Academy, Western Australia, Australia A, Durham, Derbyshire, Gloucestershire, Lancashire and Hampshire.He is a left-handed batsman and right arm...
, Adam Voges
Adam Voges
Adam Charles Voges is an Australian cricketer. In domestic cricket, he plays for the Western Warriors. He is a right-hand batsman and part-time left-arm orthodox bowler.-Early career:...
and Steve Magoffin
Steve Magoffin
Steven James "Steve" Magoffin is an Australian cricketer currently playing with the Queensland cricket team...
in successive deliveries to reduce Western Australia to 4/2.
County Cricket
He had a run of injuries in 2003–04, but recovered to play first-class cricketFirst-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
for Middlesex in England in 2005
2005 English cricket season
Before the beginning of the 2005 English cricket season began, a resurgent English cricket team had won four Test series in a row, going unbeaten through the 2004 calendar year. The start of the international season saw England defeat Bangladesh 2–0 in their two-match series, winning both Tests by...
.
He played for Hampshire
Hampshire County Cricket Club
Hampshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Hampshire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1863 as a successor to the Hampshire county cricket teams and has played at the Antelope Ground from then until 1885, before moving to the County Ground where it...
in the 2007 English cricket season
2007 English cricket season
The 2007 English cricket season began on Saturday 14 April 2007 with the match between MCC and the 2006 county champions Sussex at Lord's.-Roll of honour:Test series*England v West Indies: 4 Tests - England won 3–0....
.
Surprise inclusion in squad
In the 2005 Ashes series2005 Ashes series
The 2005 Ashes series was that year's edition of the long-standing and storied cricket rivalry between England and Australia. Starting on 21 July 2005, England and Australia played five Tests, with the Ashes held by Australia as the most recent victors...
, in a shock decision, he was called into the Australian cricket team
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
squad for the fourth and fifth Tests
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...
covering for Glenn McGrath
Glenn McGrath
Glenn Donald McGrath AM , nicknamed "Pigeon", is a former Australian cricket player. He is one of the most highly regarded fast-medium pace bowlers in cricketing history, and a leading contributor to Australia's domination of world cricket from the mid-1990s to the early 21st century...
and Brett Lee
Brett Lee
Brett Lee is an Australian cricketer.After breaking into the Australian Test team, Lee was recognised as one of the fastest bowlers in world cricket...
after they both suffered injuries; however, both McGrath and Lee overcame the injuries early and went on to play. Australian
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
Chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns
Trevor Hohns
Trevor Victor Hohns is a former Queensland and.Australian cricketer who played in 7 Tests in 1989.Hohns resigned as chairman of selectors for Cricket Australia in early 2006, being replaced with fellow selector and former Test cricketer Andrew Hilditch.-External links:...
said: We consider Stuart to be a similar style bowler to Glenn McGrath ... he is already in England and showing some good form, so we have selected him to provide some cover for the current injuries.
ODI debut
In October 2005 Clark was again called into the Australian One Day International ICC Super Series squad against the ICC World XI, covering Shaun TaitShaun Tait
Shaun William Tait is a professional Australian cricketer, who currently plays only in the Twenty20 format. Tait plays domestic cricket for South Australia and is also a representative for Australia at Twenty20 International level; he has also represented his country in One Day Internationals and...
but did not play in the first match on 5 October. He made his debut later in that series, and also played against New Zealand in the 05/06 Chappell-Hadlee series. He had vindicated the decision of the selectors somewhat with his solid performances in the ODI arena, however many fans expressed disbelief at the fact that Clark was selected ahead of players such as Paul Rofe
Paul Rofe
Paul Cameron Rofe is a cricketer who played for South Australia. He is a right-arm fast bowler of some promise who has taken 181 First Class wickets at an average of 29.66, with a best of 7-52. His limited overs career has been slightly less successful although he has still taken 37 wickets at an...
, Mick Lewis
Mick Lewis
Michael Llewellyn "Mick" Lewis is an Australian cricketer.-Grade career and state career:Born in Greensborough, Victoria, Lewis was a grade cricketer who played for Northcote and the Victorian Bushrangers gave him his first-class debut in the 1999/2000 season...
, Jason Gillespie
Jason Gillespie
Jason Neil Gillespie is an Australian cricketer who formerly represented Australia at international level, in both Tests and One Day Internationals, and South Australia, Yorkshire and Glamorgan at first-class level. His primary role is as a right-arm fast-medium bowler, but he is also a competent...
and Andrew Bichel who had been performing to a higher standard at state level. On 23 February 2007, Clark was named in the Australian World Cup Squad as a replacement for the injured Brett Lee
Brett Lee
Brett Lee is an Australian cricketer.After breaking into the Australian Test team, Lee was recognised as one of the fastest bowlers in world cricket...
Early Test career
On 16 March 2006, Clark was included in the Australian Test squad, replacing Glenn McGrathGlenn McGrath
Glenn Donald McGrath AM , nicknamed "Pigeon", is a former Australian cricket player. He is one of the most highly regarded fast-medium pace bowlers in cricketing history, and a leading contributor to Australia's domination of world cricket from the mid-1990s to the early 21st century...
(who was attending his sick wife Jane) for the tour of South Africa. He made his debut in the first Test at Cape Town. Clark had an immediate impact on the game, dismissing Graeme Smith early in South Africa's innings, on his way to five wickets. He captured another four in the second innings, to finish with match figures of 9/89 and the player of the match award.
In the second Test at Durban, he took four wickets, and in the third Test at Johannesburg, he returned figures of 3/81 and 4/34. Altogether, he was the leading wicket-taker of the series with 20 wickets (at 15.85 average) and was voted player of the series.
As expected Clark warranted selection for the Australian tour of Bangladesh which followed immediately after the South African whitewash However it was a forgettable tour for Clark who managed to pick up just one wicket in the first innings, and was overshadowed by recalled veteran Jason Gillespie. Clark was "released from duty" for the second Test as the Australian selectors decided to replace him with budding spinner Dan Cullen
Dan Cullen
Daniel James Cullen is an Australian cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and right-hand off break bowler. He plays his domestic cricket for South Australia and played for Somerset in the 2006 English cricket season....
in Chittagong. However at the time, media reports stated that Clark was given compassionate leave to attend the birth of his son – Clark later suggested that the "rest" was not necessary in any case. However by the end of the Bangladesh series, Clark maintained his spot above Jason Gillespie in the pecking order of Australian fast bowlers.
Ashes series 2006–07
Clark made his Ashes debut at the 'Gabba on 23 November 2006 in the 2006/07 series. In the first Test, he captured seven wickets as England fell to a 277-run defeat and performed similarly well in the second Test where he was the best of the bowlers as Australia triumphed by 6 wickets. Playing the final Test on his home ground in Sydney, Clark took 3 wickets in the first innings before striking 35 runs off only 47 balls with the bat in Australia's first innings.He ended the series with the most wickets (with 26 at an average of 17) and best strike rate of all bowlers, surpassing even retiring greats Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne.