Rikki Clarke,has he improved a hell of a lot or is that just me?

[open365]

I rember Rikki Clarke playing for the England ODI team along with Jim Troughton and i thought 'what a load of utter balls theese players are'

Clarke just seemed to be obessed with the reverse sweep and the less said about Troughton the better.

but watching Rikki Clarke for Surrey this season,he looks a completly different player,new hairstyle=better shots.

He really did look a quality player IMO.

so what are your opinions on him?

did i just see him play a good innings or has he really changed?

[PY]

Eddie, you know multiple accounts aren't allowed.

I've not seen anything of him this season, what part of his game has improved enough that he deserves an England recall?

[sledger]

still same ol ugly incompetant rikki, no england recall please.

[greg]

I still think he would be a useful one-day sub.

[steds]

I want to go on the next Clarkewatch

[luckyeddie]

He's a speed machine.

When Neil and I dedicated our lives to him at Brizzle the other week, I had real problems even seeing the ball, so quick was he.

(mind you, I had difficulty seeing the ball when Killer Harbhajan bowled, because I'm blind).

There WILL be more Clarkewatches, but not this season, I'm afraid. I had to abandon the Derby one because I was a bit poorly. Going to try to get things better organised next season - it'll help if I'm actually working in the UK.

[luckyeddie]

Eddie, you know multiple accounts aren't allowed.

Me? Claim to be a scouser?

It's more than my hubcaps are worth.

[wpdavid]

Eddie, you know multiple accounts aren't allowed.

I've not seen anything of him this season, what part of his game has improved enough that he deserves an England recall?

He doesn't deserve an England recall, but his game probably has improved. Obviously he's nowhere near Fred's standard yet, but I doubt whether any young English allrounder is. Mind you, neither was Fred 4 years ago, so who knows.

[Neil Pickup]

I feel that we ought to explain the CricketWeb-Rikki Clarke, er, relationship before attempting to answer the question. When Rikki was first called up to the ODI side in 2003, Eddie and myself were more than a little bit hacked off that he got a go on the back of a handful of games for Surrey and couldn't help but think the old 'Surrey bias' crap was about to rear its ugly head again. These feelings were confirmed when he bowled a mixture of pies, pasties and sausage rolls that belonged in Warren's Bakery and played the sweep shot with execution unrivalled in its poorness since I was trapped LBW at De Aston school in May of 1999.

As a result, Rikki finally was sent back to Surrey and attained something of a cult following amonst CricketWebbers, possibly to do with this alarmingly bad International performance, possibly due to his alarmingly bad acne. I'm not sure. Either way, Eddie launched ClarkeWatch and the ClarkeQuakes tracking his performances, ballooning to the extent that myself and Eddie actually spent a day in Bristol watching Gloucestershire v Surrey.

You can read the full account here, and I advise you do, as the day was excellent (disclaimer - my abuse of James Ormond was not quite as forthright as is suggested). Long story short, Rikki was magnificent, bowling 90mph and taking three wickets on a track dead enough for Harbhajan to make 82 on. However, that appears to have been the peak of his season and he's not been fast nor consistent enough to really appear on any scopes. Undoubtedly talented, but let's see him add the physical and mental spheres to his game before he gets back in the England sides. I'd like him in the Academy this winter.

EDIT: 15,000 - and a reasonable way to bring it up too, I feel!

[open365]

ahhhhh,i'd allways wondered what Clarke watch is.

[marc71178]

2 points:

1) You and LE weren't the only one's miffed at his call-up.
2) Are you sure it was Rikki you were supporting at Bristol and not Langeveldt?