GEORGE DOBELL AT LORD'S: Clarke was fined and served a four-match suspension for bringing the game into disrepute after evidence produced at the trial of rapist Alex Hepburn, who was jailed in 2019
Rob Key says he can “see no reason why not” to select Joe Clarke for England.
Clarke was fined and served a four-match suspension for bringing the game into disrepute after evidence produced at the trial of rapist Alex Hepburn showed he was part of a Whatsapp group the judge said featured "a pathetic, sexist game" which bragged about sexual conquests, "demeaned women" and "trivialised rape".
He was also obliged to attend "educational training" on the issue.
But while Key, the new managing director of the England men’s teams, said he would have to "look into" the matter, he suggested Clarke was one of the middle-order batters who was under consideration.
Indeed, in his first press conference in the role, Key brought up the Nottinghamshire batter's name unprompted and used him as an example of a talented player who was pushing for selection.
"I'll have to look into exactly where that's been now and what's gone on in the past," Key said. “But, for me, I see no reason why not.
"I think you can't penalise people forever in life. I know we want to do that at times and the whole world will never forgive anyone for anything at the moment. But I think sometimes you can do your time and you can come back."
Joe Clarke has 18 first-class centuries to his name (Harry Trump/Getty Images)
A recent column published in May edition of The Cricketer which argued for Clarke’s recall was branded as "misogynistic" by some readers who suggested he had failed to show the necessary contrition required.
He has been close to selection in recent months, however. He was England’s stand-by batter for the Caribbean Test tour and has a very good T20 record over the last couple of years.
Clarke’s name cropped up in Key’s press conference while he was discussing options for England’s Test batting line-up. While arguing that the white-ball revolution of 2015 was based on selecting a markedly different group of players, Key was suggesting that the Test team in recent months would probably contain many of the same faces which have featured in recent times.
"I don’t think [the Test team] will be that different," he said. "In 2015, they just basically changed the entire white-ball squad and played a different brand of cricket.
"I think we [already] have the players who can do it [better in Test cricket]. You could probably there aren’t loads of people putting their hands up as openers. But there are lots in the middle order. People like Ollie Pope, Joe Clarke and Ben Duckett are playing well. It’s almost a log jam.
"I am looking at people thinking ‘he’s a good player, but how do you get him in?’. There is plenty of talent. It’s just about when they come in how they can keep producing."
Welcome to www.thecricketer.com - the online home of the world’s oldest cricket magazine. Breaking news, interviews, opinion and cricket goodness from every corner of our beautiful sport, from village green to national arena.