England ace Joe Clarke heads back to Oswestry

After two seasons with county rivals Wellington, Clarke – along with his older brothers Ollie and Robbie – has returned to the club where he first took up the game.

Oswestry club captain Mike Robinson is delighted to get the Clarke trio back on board, notably 17-year-old Joe who further enhanced his credentials by helping England into the quarter-finals of the under-19s World Cup in Abu Dhabi this week.

The wicket keeper-batsman has already made useful contributions in the competition, smashing an unbeaten 19 off eight balls, with two sixes, as England eased to a 213-run win over United Arab Emirates in their opening fixture, and then hit 33 off 21 balls in the 115-run beating of New Zealand.

The arrival of international Clarke is a real boost for Oswestry who are gearing up for far sterner challenges this season in Division One following back-to-back promotions.

He joins a week after Shropshire opening bowler Dan Bowen signed from county rivals Whitchurch, a more than able replacement for the departing Jonathan Miles.

With a paceman from South Africa also being lined up, the Morda Road men look to be in good shape for the coming campaign.

"After starting out with Oswestry, Joe joined Wellington at the start of the 2012 season, which made sense as they were three divisions above us at the time," said Robinson. "The aim was to get him noticed, which it did, but with Wellington now in the same division as us, he's happy to come back.

"He bats up the order and keeps wicket, he's a terrific prospect and will further strengthen our squad for the new season."

A sixth former at Llanfyllin High School and currently living in Trefonen, Clarke – who turns 18 in May – has enjoyed a rapid rise, being selected for England's under-19s squad and also signing a professional contract with Worcestershire. He is the youngest cricketer to play for Shropshire Minor Counties senior side when making his debut in a three-day game against Berkshire after he had just turned 16.