Bertie Clarke

Bertie Clarke
Clarke in 1947
Personal information
Born 7 April 1918
Lakes Folly, Barbados
Died 14 October 1993 (aged 75)
Putney, London, England
Batting Right-handed
Bowling Leg break, googly
Role Bowler
International information
National side
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

Carlos Bertram Clarke (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 and bettered this with 129 for 10.17 apiece in 1942.

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”.

After the war, Clarke played frequently though not regularly for Northamptonshire in 1946 and 1947, and much later for Essex in 1959 and 1960.