Nobby Clark

Who was Nobby Clark?

Edward Winchester 'Nobby' Clark was a Northamptonshire cricketer of the inter-war period during which they were one of the weakest counties ever to play in the County Championship. Nonetheless, Clark, a bowler of genuine pace who could swing the ball in and make it break away to produce catches in the slips, was regarded in his prime as one of the best fast bowlers in England. He could also bowl, as Bill Voce did under Jardine, to a leg-side field, but was never as effective doing so despite his beautiful action. Like Voce, Clark often bowled round the wicket.

At his best, "Nobby" Clark was the fastest professional bowler apart from Harold Larwood and his beautiful action enabled him to stand up to the considerable spells of work required of him given that Northamptonshire had little support in the field apart from Fred Bakewell at short leg.

However, his fiery temperament that would get angry over even slight problems like broken footholds or missed chances greatly reduced Clark's appeal to selectors for Test and other representative matches.