Photo Credit: Melbourne Renegades
The Melbourne Renegades are pleased to announce the signing of English wicketkeeper/batter Joe Clarke ahead of the upcoming KFC BBL season.
The top order batter joins South Africa’s Quinton De Kock and Afghanistan’s Mujeeb Ur Rahman on the club’s international roster.
Clarke is the second player to make the move from the Melbourne Stars to the Renegades following Adam Zampa’s switch during the off season.
27 year-old Clarke finished The Hundred among the competition’s top run scorers with the Welsh Fire.
“I’m excited to come down to Melbourne again for the summer and this time be in red at Marvel Stadium. The list the Renegades have put together has some serious talent and experience and I’m looking forward to being part of that and building for a second consecutive finals appearance,” Clarke said.
“Having now been part of derbies at Marvel Stadium and the MCG, I’ve seen the rivalry first hand. With Zamps and I making the move, it will add a bit more to those matches this season but I’m looking forward to the challenge and hopefully we come out on top.”
Melbourne Renegades General Manager James Rosengarten said Clarke had been in the club’s sights for some time.
“We really like the way Joe plays the game. He’s an attacking player from the top who can set up a game quickly and we think he’ll a perfect fit with our other top order batters,” Rosengarten said.
“We witnessed first-hand at Marvel last season how destructive he can be when he’s firing and wanted that firepower playing for us. Between he and Adam Zampa, we’re pretty happy to have signed the Stars’ MVPs from the last two seasons.”
“Joe was an active part of our overseas draft strategy this year. While we were limited in how we could use our picks at the Overseas Player Draft, we had a plan to secure Joe as quickly as we could and it came off which is great for our Club. To have secured three overseas players that were listed in the Platinum Overseas Player group is a super result for the Renegades and our members and fans.
“Whilst Quinton will take the gloves as our primary wicketkeeper, Joe is also a strong keeper who will be able to keep when Quinton is unavailable, giving us greater flexibility with our overseas replacement player options. We’re excited to have Joe and Quinton open the batting together for the Renegades this season,” Rosengarten added.
Clarke’s signing follows the recent news of the club’s principal partner Liberty extending its long-term relationship with the club.
BBL|13 Squad (so far): Nic Maddinson (c), Joe Clarke (England), Quinton de Kock (South Africa), Harry Dixon, Aaron Finch, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Mackenzie Harvey, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Kane Richardson, Tom Rogers, Peter Siddle, Will Sutherland, Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Afghanistan), Jon Wells, Adam Zampa.
