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Sylvester Clarke

 
spider 2015-03-26 17:49:33 

Nice article on Sylvester Clarke. Interesting comments too.

Steve Waugh could feel the will of his Somerset team-mates “disintegrating” a full week before it happened. By the time the players were getting changed for the game, “half of them were out already”. When Waugh himself went to the crease he faced “the most awkward and nastiest spell” of his career.

He described the experience as “something you can’t prepare for. It’s an assault both physically and mentally and the moment you weaken and think about what might happen, you’re either out or injured.”


Remembering Sylvester Clarke

 
imusic 2015-03-26 17:55:06 

In reply to spider

Nice, melancholy article about an often overlooked player

Thanks for posting

 
che 2015-03-26 18:22:06 

In reply to spider

Silly Clarke friken the crap outta Viv Richards...Daniel n Big Bird finish de twerp off!!!!

lol lol lol

 
FanAttick 2015-03-26 18:27:27 

In reply to spider

Great nostalgic read...

 
camos 2015-03-26 18:35:42 

went to South Africa with Rowe!

 
CricketLuva4 2015-03-26 19:08:58 

In reply to spider

Waugh said in his autobiography that Clarke's bouncer/effort ball was near 100mph, he got an extra yard of pace from a double jointed shoulder blade or something.

 
GMA 2015-03-26 21:15:30 

In reply to spider

Great stuff.

 
Baje 2015-03-26 21:24:50 

I remember Sylly Clarke well. As a youngster I went to BCL trials. Attended first net session and never went back. I was 17 then and he was about 21 and unknown. On an iffy net wicket. I had no stomach. I also played in a curry goat match with him where he struck my opening partner in the head. He had that windmill kind of action that made you lose the ball.
When he first started to make the Barbados team, many a day the st.phillip crew had to give him an early morning detoxification. One of the few professionals with a rum belly.
I was at Kensington when he bowled two balls to Everton Mattis. First ball took off parted his hair and climbed over keeper head. Next ball Mattis failed to get in line and got his stumps disturbed. Another time Luther Kelly took Joel Garner apart. Clarke went to work on him. That evening outside the oval a visibly shaken Kelly was talking about the cuts in his mouth and the swollen tongue.
In Barbados he bowled at a brisk pace but nothing compared to what I heard about his spells in England. I guess rum and Caribbean sun didn't go well together. He was a mean dude. Garner, Marshall, Daniel were all comparatively nice guys. Clarke didn't appear to care if he hit you or not.
He was a naturally talented guy who did not take the best care of himself. If he had taken his cricket preparation seriously, he could have been a great.

 
cricketest 2015-03-26 21:51:19 


Clarke went to work on him. That evening outside the oval a visibly shaken Kelly was talking about the cuts in his mouth and the swollen tongue.


was Kelly a bajan?

lol

 
Baje 2015-03-26 22:02:55 

In reply to cricketest
Actually he was a Kittian

 
Commie 2015-03-26 22:13:21 

In reply to Baje

Kelly is an ump these days.

 
Dukes 2015-03-27 00:06:07 

In reply to Commie

Wasn't he a policeman back in the day?

 
armchair 2015-03-27 00:33:35 

In reply to Baje
Baje a nice recollection. My dad was associated with BCL and also lived in the St Patricks area so knew Silly well. He often said you don{t antagonise him, even in a fete match as he would knock you down without a thought - regardless of age, size, or anything. I seem to remember him hospitalising or sending to hospital a number of Kent players in a match in the 80s, but perhaps that just one of those memories. I do recall that he was the most feared bowler in county cricket for a period.

 
armchair 2015-03-27 00:38:58 

Also recall that brick throwing incident, seems so consistent with the man.

I wonder how these modern day batsmen who reverse sweep and play the scoop shot would have handled him - ahh for the old days

 
djdrastic 2015-03-27 01:04:24 

He put the mean in the Transvaal Mean Machine.
That 84/85 season he was virtually unplayable over here.

Also didn't believe in the bowlers club.If you were standing on the opposite side of the wicket you were fair game.

 
spider 2015-03-27 01:47:59 

In reply to Baje

Nice stories Baje.

 
Ninetenjack 2015-03-27 06:01:45 

In reply to CricketLuva4

I saw him bowl in 1978 at Bourda, into the wind and on a dead track Boy he had them hopping around.

 
tc1 2015-03-27 08:56:26 

In reply to Baje

I do believe u, did u drove fear into the guys like this.
was he more fearsome than Charlie, in Charlie early days men refuse to play against Empire when scheduled. Men forfeited their chance to go to trail.

regional teams just surrender as well as international teams

 
Commie 2015-03-27 09:01:13 

In reply to Dukes

Yes he was I believe.

 
Bigzinc 2015-03-27 10:13:32 

In reply to Ninetenjack

i saw that match as well. Wood and Sargeant made hundreds for Oz.

 
robbo 2015-03-27 18:20:10 

Saw Clarke in England a few times...all I can say is that when in the mood he was seriously quick....he seemed a little disinterested at times and coasted a bit but when he clicked he was as fast as any bowler I have ever seen before or since !

 
Norm 2015-03-27 23:37:48 

Gavaskar described Syl Clarke as the most fearsome bowler he ever faced.

Clarke dismissed him for 0 with the first ball of the second Test in the 1978 series in India, and knocked the bat out of his hand in another innings.

 
Superfly 2015-03-28 04:01:42 

In reply to Baje

Thanks for the recollections.

I saw Clarke bowl live once and it was the most fearsome, frighteningly-quick, fast bowling that I've ever seen.

I was on my way into central London to use my college library and bought a newspaper at Clapham Common station. On the sports page was an article about the day's match at Kennington Oval and that it was to be Clive Lloyd's last game there before he retired. Three stops on the Northern Line later, we were at The Oval station and I hopped off the Tube and headed to the ground instead.

I arrived at the ground just in time to see this game begin. It was the Cup semi-final so there was a lot at stake. The scorecard doesn't do justice to how well Clarke bowled that day. To this day I remember the first ball he bowled to Lloyd. A vicious bouncer that almost knocked Lloyd's head off and caused him to sway out of the way quickly, he overbalanced and ended up about halfway towards the square leg umpire. So began the most sustained piece of aggressive fast bowling that I've ever seen. It was an incongruous sight: Clarke off a relatively short run with little delicate steps, a big moustache and a pronounced beer belly, shirt unbuttoned halfway, running in to hurl these thunderbolts at his former captain.

I turned up to see Lloyd bat and came away impressed with Clarke's bowling.

 
coddy 2015-03-28 04:19:31 

I remember watching Clarke in county cricket and 'on his day' was quick/fearsome etc as were/are plenty of fast bowlers......Robin Smith faced many of the quickest WIndian bowlers and says that a spell from Walsh was the fastest he'd ever faced (really???) .....just shows how subjective and 'one-off match/spell' the subject of quickest, most fearsome/aggresssive etc is.

 
Runs 2015-03-28 05:22:20 

In reply to Bigzinc

I was there also WI had OZ 21/3 at one stage

 
robbo 2015-03-28 06:32:21 

In reply to coddy

You are right of course re subjectivity etc..Walsh was one of a number of bowlers that for 80% of the time bowled well within himself and he would not be the first name to be mentioned when the subject of 'quickest ' came up.

However....he could really turn it on when he wanted...I wonder if Smith is referring to that spell in the early 90's when Walsh and Bishop really peppered him and Walsh hit him on the jaw ?

 
Emir 2015-03-28 07:36:51 

In reply to spider

Thanks for sharing this wonderful article.

Pity WI journalist don't do stories like this on our past greats.

 
spider 2015-03-28 10:13:16 

In reply to Emir

They do all the time.

 
Walco 2015-03-28 12:55:49 

In reply to spider

Good read. But what are plimsolls?

 
spider 2015-03-28 13:21:51 

In reply to Walco

I have no idea. Wondered what it was too.

 
Larr Pullo 2015-03-28 13:35:50 

In reply to Walco

It's a very cheap type of sneaker...(plimsolls)

 
spider 2015-03-28 13:35:51 

In reply to Walco

Just asked the author and he says they are cheap canvas trainers.

 
Walco 2015-03-28 15:15:05 

In reply to Larr Pullo & spider

Thanks

 
Baje 2015-03-28 16:33:59 

In reply to coddy
[quote] When I was growing up there were a lot of big name fast bowlers: Daniel, Clarke, Alleyne, Garner. However there were some never heard of guys like "Mother Cat", Pierre Phillips, Lester Forde, Pick Roach etc who for a few overs could bowl really really fast.
I never knew Bravo was a fast bowler until I saw the 2007 World Cup in Barbados. Bravo was bowling at 90+ mph against Bangla, considerably faster Tayrol at the other end. I would never have believed it.

 
coddy 2015-03-28 16:38:58 

In reply to spider



Plimsolls .....yes canvas,always black,no laces,elastic either side on top...very cheap!....look bit like a cheap beach/surf shoe....worn by kids for PE in school in england upto about 6/7 yrs old............before they know what NIKE is!!! lol

 
spider 2015-03-28 17:26:01 

In reply to Baje

Please check your PM.

 
imusic 2015-03-28 17:58:21 

In reply to Baje

I never knew Bravo was a fast bowler until I saw the 2007 World Cup in Barbados. Bravo was bowling at 90+ mph against Bangla, considerably faster Tayrol at the other end. I would never have believed it.

Bravo? As in Dwayne Bravo?

 
Eightpack 2015-03-28 21:45:53 

In reply to spider

Facing him with the new ball was frightening. I could not believe someone could bowl that quick from such a short run up. RIP Silly!!!

 
Walco 2015-03-28 22:18:48 

In reply to Baje

I never knew Bravo was a fast bowler until I saw the 2007 World Cup in Barbados. Bravo was bowling at 90+ mph against Bangla, considerably faster Tayrol at the other end. I would never have believed it.


I was at that match, and Bravo's bowling did not stand out to me as faster than the other times I had seen him. Medium pace with occasional fast medium.

 
Oilah 2015-03-28 22:22:11 

In reply to Walco

Do you know what high school Clarke went to? Was he recognized at high school as a test material?

 
Walco 2015-03-28 22:29:03 

In reply to Oilah

Don't know where he went to school. He was from St. Patrick, so my guess would be Princess Margaret or maybe Foundation.

 
Oilah 2015-03-28 22:43:45 

In reply to Walco

My guess would be Foundation but I have no memory of anyone talking about his school cricket

 
cherri 2015-03-28 22:48:36 

In reply to Oilah

How the school he went to got anything to do wid bowling fast?..... rolleyes

 
Oilah 2015-03-28 22:56:41 

In reply to cherri

Nothing actually...just wanted to know. For all I know he may have been pretty slow at high school.. I like to know about cricketers even before they are famous.

 
voiceofreason 2015-03-28 23:00:58 

In reply to Dukes

Luther Kelly was a Policeman. Growing up I heard about this Policeman who played for St. Kitts/Leewards and could never get into the West indies team.

 
cherri 2015-03-28 23:13:41 

In reply to Oilah


Really though.......

 
che 2015-03-29 00:15:44 

From the mid 1970s onwards Barbados was a fast bowling conveyor belt, supplying English county cricket with a sequence of fearsome pacemen starting with Garner and then Marshall and including the colossi Wayne Daniel and Sylvester Clarke, Franklyn Stephenson, Ezra Moseley, and various others. The sound of a toilet flushing was usually audible in the dressing room before an Englishman faced any of these men.
Simon Hughes, The Telegraph


lol lol lol

 
che 2015-03-29 10:21:32 

SLP/tci...whe wunna!!!!

lol lol lol

 
camos 2015-03-29 10:27:23 

In reply to voiceofreason

Kelly was a hard hitting bat, think he was an opener , once out for 90+ in the over before lunch , was not consistent enough to play ahead of the guys around him.

 
Walco 2015-03-29 11:28:34 

In reply to Oilah

If Clarke went to Foundation that would mean he played with Big Bird.

 
Commie 2015-03-29 12:46:36 

In reply to camos

Kelly was ok. There were a good few better.

 
RedDuppy 2015-03-30 00:00:54 

In reply to Walco
He went to St Bartholomew's Boys' School. Off the field Syllie was a nice fella. Like nuff sport but he had no friends on the field. Big Bird was the same way.

Those men would try tuh kill yuh and when stumps pull is a different story. I face almost all a dem men when I was a youngster but I'm thankful I never butt up Syllie.

Syllie didn't like hot sun so men used tuh pray de sky doan turn overcast or is trouble in de camp.

 
Baje 2015-03-30 06:57:09 

In reply to imusic



I never knew Bravo was a fast bowler until I saw the 2007 World Cup in Barbados. Bravo was bowling at 90+ mph against Bangla, considerably faster Tayrol at the other end. I would never have believed it.

Bravo? As in Dwayne Bravo?


Yeah! Dat one. He was bowling very hostile too,

 
che 2015-03-30 07:33:59 

In reply to RedDuppy

lol lol lol

 
tc1 2015-03-30 09:58:30 

In reply to RedDuppy

I see Charlie as a youngster, he ended many local, regional and international career, was Syllie that more fearsome than Charlie.

 
Walco 2015-03-31 04:29:17 

In reply to RedDuppy

Thanks. That's good stuff.

 
cricket_jumbie 2015-03-31 13:44:13 

In reply to RedDuppy

What's up, bro? Long time ...

Clarke was very quick. The speed that I saw him generate at the QPO has only been matched by Thommo in my lifetime.

This brings me back to a century that a young Gus Logie scored against Bim. Gus cut, hooked and pulled Clarke so well that day that I left the oval certain that he would eventually become one of WI great batters.

Oh well ...

 
Trinidave 2015-03-31 14:10:06 

In reply to cricket_jumbie

When Logie came tuh de wicket at QPO, there used tuh be ah real buzz.

 
FineBajanMan 2015-03-31 20:57:23 

In reply to Baje
I was there that Saturday morning for that Everton Mattis 2 balls. Mattis didn't want any part of Silly Clarke that morning after that first ball. It was a classic fast bowler 1-2. First was the "nose smelling" bouncer then the fast yorker at his stumps. I am sure that Mattis didn't see that first ball, all Mattis could do that first ball was to barely duck his head and David Murray tried to jump to catch it, the ball was on its way to the boundary hitting the sight screen underneath the George Challenor stand.
big grin big grin big grin big grin

 
RedDuppy 2015-04-01 02:02:29 

In reply to tc1
Here's the thing, when you saw Charlie running in you knew is some serious pace coming. Syllie used tuh amble in off a shortish run next ting yuh know a red ball watching you right in yuh eyeball.

I watched Empire vs BCL one Saturday and saw a good buudy of mine from Kolij get hit pon de helmet from Syllie. De man wander all out tuh square leg muttering and gesticulating like man possessed. Up tuh now he has no recollection of this event.

I was also at de Oval when he part Mattis hair. Mattis didn't have a clue. I would more say the ball missed Mattis head rather than Mattis evaded the ball because I honestly don't think he really ever fully saw it coming. Next ball perfectly pitched inswinging Yorker stumps flying.

Syllie was one of those bowlers Boycs describes as a daisy bowler. Some days he does others he doesn't. You didn't want tuh be padded up when he was on song.

 
RedDuppy 2015-04-01 02:04:11 

In reply to cricket_jumbie

I still here. Me and Syllie drink more dan one grog together. Like I said nice man once yuh ain facing he wid a bat in yuh hand.

 
tc1 2015-04-01 10:42:59 

In reply to RedDuppy

thanks Red, very informative in real time

 
FineBajanMan 2015-04-01 19:25:20 

A good friend of Syllie Clarke told me a story about him and Graeme Gooch playing county cricket. Gooch was batting and doing his chipping down the wicket to Clark's bowling partner who was a medium pace bowler from the one end. When he tried to do the chipping down the wicket to Clark, he chipped down to a beamer. Syllie Clark told him that he was a West Indies fast bowler, do not chip down to me like I am a slow bowler. smile smile smile

 
moneybrain 2015-04-02 19:49:10 

In reply to RedDuppy

Dups how U could put Bird in wid Syl?

Bird was a gentleman compared wid Syl. Syl would a kill U without a second thought, it was full scale WAR when U call for guard. cool