Jono Clarke Obituary by John Ward

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Player:

JK Clarke

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DateLine: 3rd June 2020

 

Jono Clarke, as he was generally known, was an opening or number three batsman for Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) for three seasons, between 1967/68 and 1969/70. He was rather short and dark, wore glasses and was always immaculately turned out.

 

He was a dedicated and workmanlike opening batsman with a fine temperament, who perhaps was not quite good enough to succeed against the extremely high-class bowlers encountered in the Currie Cup A Section, but was a very respected and even feared opponent at all other levels. He tended to play mostly off the back foot, being particularly strong with the hook, as well as working the ball away on the leg side, but the best bowlers were often able to exploit a slight weakness on his off stump.

 

As a man he was serious-minded, and could be forceful and strong-minded. He was an excellent team man who never gave less than his best for the side. He also made himself into a fine fielder, sometimes close to the wicket, but was also highly rated in the covers.

 

He was educated at St George’s College in Salisbury (now Harare), and played his club cricket for Old Georgians Sports Club, generally opening the innings (which he also did for Rhodesia) with the country’s long-standing opening batsman, Ray Gripper. Consistently good performances earned him a place in the national team for Rhodesia’s South African tour of 1967/68, where the first match was played against Western Province at Newlands in Cape Town — both teams curiously being that season in the Currie Cup B Section.

 

It was a hard match for Rhodesia, who lost the toss and were forced to follow on. Clarke failed to score in the first innings, caught at the wicket cutting early on, and he vowed never do to that again. However, he became an overnight hero in the second innings, when he batted almost throughout the final day for 112 not out, an innings that enabled Rhodesia to save the match, finishing with seven wickets down in their second innings and with Clarke still there. He was the first Rhodesian to score a century on his first-class début.

 

Later in the season he scored a second century, 130 against Orange Free State, and shared an opening partnership of 268 with Gripper, whose eventual 279 not out remained the record individual score for the Currie Cup for many years and is still the highest score made by any player from this country for any Rhodesian or Zimbabwean team; the opening partnership is also still the highest for the national team. He finished his first season with 381 runs at an average of 47.62 and played a major part in earning for Rhodesia promotion to the Currie Cup A Section in 1968/69.

 

Unfortunately he struggled against the high-quality bowlers in the A Section, and it was usually the best bowlers of all who took his wicket. In two seasons he could score only 338 runs at an average of 17.78, although his solitary fifty (54) in that period was a magnificent fighting innings to help stave off defeat against Natal (including Procter, Trimborn and van der Bijl) at Durban. With a new young generation of talent beginning to bloom in the country at that time, the selectors did not call on him again.

 

His last appearance in a match of importance was in September 1972, when he opened the batting for a Midlands invitation team in a 50-over match against Brian Close’s International Wanderers team in Gwelo (now Gweru), and scored 18, caught by Tony Greig off Close.

 

In private life he was an accountant who eventually became the financial director of a tobacco company. The pressures of his job soon forced him out of the most serious cricket, although he played in the Harare Saturday afternoon friendly league for many years afterwards with great effect. After his retirement he moved to Perth, Australia, where he died from cancer on 2 June 2020.

 

(Article: Copyright © 2020 John Ward)