COVERED WINTER 2019

COVERED 20 TRENTBRIDGE.CO.UK boosted confidence and hinted at better times to come; he believes they also set a template for how he can emerge from future fallows. “I had a really long chat with Mooresy (Head Coach Peter Moores) before the Kent home game and ultimately got left out,” he says. “I was told to have a week away from cricket. “In my head, I didn’t. I was still thinking about the game. I didn’t want to throw the towel in and say my season was done. “I’m one of the lads that you can’t get out of the nets – and Pete said he thought I’d been trying too hard, being so desperate to succeed that I was putting too much pressure on myself. “When I’m struggling for runs, I think ‘hit more balls’ and I do believe that training hard brings rewards. “But I’d gone over the edge and having a week to reflect was good for me. I came back a different player.” His week of rest at a conclusion, Clarke was itching to return to the nets. But his throwdown SOS landed at a particularly difficult moment. In Moores, however, Nottinghamshire batsmen old and new have a mentor to whom the hard graft of practice comes naturally. If hours on end of throw-downs are what’s required, he’s a coach that will not only be present, he’ll be enthusiastic and insightful too. “I never wanted to be dropped, but Mooresy knew what headspace I was in,” he says. “I had to forget about everything that’s gone on and look, with Pete, at Joe Clarke the batter – because when I’m playing at my best, I can dominate. “The brilliant thing about Mooresy, at the end of that week I messaged him saying I was really keen to come in for a hit. “It was shortly after our relegation had been confirmed, it was Saturday morning, the only day off for the lads between matches. “He was in with me for hours and if I’d asked for longer, he’d have done it. That’s the type of character he is. “During that middle block of the summer, I looked and felt like a man who didn’t know my own game. “All it took was one conversation with a coach who I trust and I was back to thinking ‘I know my game inside-out, this is what I do best’. “Hindsight is brilliant and I wish it had happened earlier in the season. “But it’s a learning curve for me. If I ever have a period where there’s a lack of runs, it’s something I can go back to. “It was nice (againstWarwickshire) to remind the members, the fans, the players and the staff what I’m capable of. Hopefully they’ll be seeing a lot more of that.” In white-ball cricket, Clarke was more like his usual self throughout the season. An opening game 50-over century against Lancashire at Trent Bridge was Clarke at his natural, destructive best. And although the full swagger never quite returned after those mid- “I’M ONE OF THE LADS THAT YOU CAN’T GET OUT OF THE NETS – PETE THOUGHT I’D BEEN TRYING TOO HARD, BEING SO DESPERATE TO SUCCEED THAT I WAS PUTTING TOO MUCH PRESSURE ON MYSELF.” Joe Clarke