Joe Clarke

Profile details

FULL NAME

Joe Clarke

PLAYING ROLE

Wicketkeeper-batter

TEAMS

Kandahar Warriors

A Diamond pick with a heavy first-class record

Joe Michael Clarke was born on 26 May 1996 in Shrewsbury, England. He is a right-handed wicketkeeper-batter, 5 ft 10 in tall, and he joins Kandahar Warriors for APL 2026-27 as a Diamond pick from the player draft in Dubai on 3 November 2026.

His record is built on volume as much as on peaks. He has scored 10,213 first-class runs at an average of 40.85, and his career-best 229 not out came against Warwickshire in 2023. In T20 cricket his highest score, 136, is the highest T20 score ever made by a Nottinghamshire batter.

That combination — a keeper who bats in the top order and scores big — is why Kandahar spent a Diamond pick on him. He is one of three keepers in the squad, alongside Kusal Perera and Mohammad Shahzad, and only one pair of gloves is available, so his batting has to earn his place as much as his keeping does.

This is his APL debut. He did not play the 2018 season, and his first APL match will come in the UAE once the season starts on 27 December 2026.

Joe Clarke in numbers

The season has not started, so there are no APL 2026-27 numbers for Joe Clarke yet. The first ball is on Sunday 27 December 2026, and his figures for this season will be added here after Match 1.

His career numbers are the reason Kandahar picked him: 10,213 first-class runs at 40.85, a best of 229 not out, and a T20 best of 136. In a short league season, one big innings from a top-order keeper-batter can decide a playoff place.

Three keepers, one pair of gloves

Kandahar’s squad has an unusual problem: three international wicketkeepers — Clarke, Kusal Perera and Mohammad Shahzad — and only one of them can keep in any given match. That is a selection headache, but it is also a strength, because all three are picked first for their batting.

Clarke’s case is the top-order one. He bats right-handed and scores at pace, and in a side with power at the top — Shahzad, Perera, George Munsey — he gives Ravi Bopara a keeper who can open or bat at three without weakening the batting. His keeping, meanwhile, has to be good enough for Rashid Khan’s leg-spin and Nabi’s off-spin, two of the hardest balls in the league to take.

Five teams chase four playoff places, and Kandahar play eight league matches. Clarke’s job is simple to state and hard to do: score the runs that turn close games into wins, and take the chances that Rashid and Nabi create.

He will make his Afghanistan Premier League debut when the season starts on 27 December 2026 in the UAE.