TALENTED Pears star Joe Clarke will take to the field at New Road to face South Africa in a three-day game for England Lions which starts this morning
The Worcestershire batsman had been a regular member of the Lions set-up for the past 18 months but failed to feature in the early games of this summer.
However, the 21-year-old has earned a recall after scoring two superb centuries in the Specsavers County Championship triumph over Kent at New Road.
A classy 142 in the first innings was followed by 110 not out in the second innings as Worcestershire chased down their 399 victory target with four wickets to spare. The win moved the Pears into second place in Division Two ahead of the current round of day/night fixtures.
The youngster played the first two days of the game at Durham before being replaced by Tom Fell.
Clarke’s selection will give Pears supporters the chance to see him in action against the tourists in the three-day fixture.
Worcestershire director of cricket Steve Rhodes said he was delighted at Clarke’s return to the international fold.
“He has had a tough start to the season but it is typical Joe Clarke that he bounced back and showed such resilience to get two hundreds in the same game,” said Rhodes.
“Joe showed the sheer determination once he had got in and got his touch back to make the most of it.
“He is an ambitious lad who wants to play for England and he knows the stepping stone to achieve that is the Lions.
“Joe knows he needs to get more runs than the other people who are in the Lions team and all of us wish him well.”
The Proteas match offers a real opportunity for Clarke to make his mark as it is South Africa’s final game before the first Test versus England so they are likely to field a near full-strength side.
Former England batsman Gary Ballance has been appointed captain of the 12-man Lions squad. He is currently averaging more than 100 in the County Championship in his first season as Yorkshire skippe