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Joe Clarke signs with Melbourne Stars for the BBL

Notts opener joins Stars for the full season after a brief stint with Scorchers in last year's BBL

Joe Clarke joins Melbourne Stars after previous playing with Perth Scorchers  •  Getty Images and Cricket Australia

Joe Clarke joins Melbourne Stars after previous playing with Perth Scorchers  •  Getty Images and Cricket Australia

Melbourne Stars have unveiled their first overseas signing ahead of the BBL with uncapped Englishman Joe Clarke set to join the club for the entire season.
Clarke, 25, played three games for Perth Scorchers in last year's BBL as a replacement player prior to Jason Roy's arrival. The Nottinghamshire opener is coming off an English summer where he scored a stunning 136 from just 65 balls against Northants in the T20 Blast. He also played for Karachi Kings in the PSL and Manchester Originals in the Hundred.
"I'm pretty excited about coming down to Melbourne for the Australian summer and getting involved at the Stars," Clarke said.
"The Stars are known for the quality players that are involved, so it was a pretty simple decision for me to commit to this summer and play in front of all the fans in green. I know Melbourne has been through a tough 18 months with COVID so I'm looking forward to being part of the fun that is ahead this summer."
Stars coach David Hussey revealed Clarke could well do some wicketkeeping in the BBL, with a versatile wicketkeeper-batter one of key pieces to balance the Stars line-up in recent years.
"It's well known in the UK how talented Joe is and we want his time with the Stars to hopefully lead to even bigger things in the future for him," Hussey said.
"He'll be a great fit for our batting lineup. He's a really clean striker of the ball and has scored consistently in the competitions he's played in the last couple of years. Joe also gives us an option with the wicketkeeping gloves so all those elements will be beneficial for our team shape."