Bertie Clarke

Carlos Bertram Clarke OBE (7 April 1918 – 14 October 1993) was a West Indian international cricketer who played in three Test matches 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]

Bertie Clarke

Clarke in 1947
Personal information
Born	(1918-04-07)7 April 1918 Lakes Folly, Barbados
Died	14 October 1993(1993-10-14) (aged 75) Putney, London, England
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Leg break, googly
Role	Bowler
International information
National side	West Indies
Test debut (cap 46)	24 June 1939 v England
Last Test	19 August 1939 v England
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1937/38–1938/39	Barbados
1946–1949	Northamptonshire
1959–1960	Essex
Career statistics
Competition Test First-class Matches 3 97 Runs scored 3 1,292 Batting average 1.00 12.30 100s/50s 0/0 0/1 Top score 2 86 Balls bowled 456 16,123 Wickets 6 333 Bowling average 43.50 26.37 5 wickets in innings 0 20 10 wickets in match 0 1 Best bowling 3/59 7/75 Catches/stumpings 0/– 42/–
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.