স্টুয়ার্ট ক্লার্ক

Australia's domination during their golden era saw them have enviable pace stocks, so much so that many worthy bowlers were reduced to mere fillers. Stuart Clark can be considered in that category - he was more than good enough to be the regular for any team in the world except Australia at that point. Blessed with the ability to extract disconcerting bounce from his tallish frame, Clark could also move the ball off the seam both ways, compounding the batsmen's misery. A rhythm bowler, he was difficult to face especially against the new ball with which he often weaved magic. He also had a fairly good radar which meant that he rarely produced erratic spells. Despite his skillset, he was only able to play over 70 international games across formats for Australia.

Clark's first international call up came at the age of 30 when Glenn McGrath had temporarily opted out of cricket to attend to his wife in 2006. It was a clear opportunity for the young New South Wales pacer and he grabbed it with both hands, emerging as the Man of the Series in trip to South Africa in Tests. It was a statement of sorts and over the next 3-4 years, Clark was mostly a regular in the side as McGrath had retired in early 2007, thereby opening up a spot. Primarily labelled as a Test bowler due to his disciplines and old school approach, Clark did change that perception in ODIs where he was again a handy wicket-taker. However, injuries hindered his progress and during the fag end of the 2008-09 season, the form had also started to dip a tad. One of the issues of starting late in international cricket is that there is very little room for having a lean patch and Clark experienced it the hard way.

He may haven't played for long in international cricket but Clark was always a giant in Australian domestic cricket. It was only due to the national team's rich array of pacers that he couldn't get picked at a younger age. Another reason was that he wasn't quite pacy and barring McGrath, almost all of the Aussie quicks impressed with that quality over the last two decades. Nevertheless, whenever given an opportunity, Clark fitted into his role seamlessly and ensured that Australia's bowling wasn't crippled even when their big names were absent. Despite being dropped, Clark was optimistic of an international comeback and he involved himself in the IPL as a player and the BBL as a manager of the Sydney Sixers. In 2012, he announced retirement from all forms of the game and since then has been active in the media field. Since 2015, Clark has done a face-lift and been a part of the Rugby League.

By Hariprasad Sadanandan