Joe Clarke: Nottinghamshire name batter as new T20 captain

Joe Clarke joined Nottinghamshire in 2019 and has a career strike-rate of 146.72 in T20 cricket

Nottinghamshire have named batter Joe Clarke as their new T20 Blast captain.

He was the club's T20 player of the season in 2020 and again in 2023, and has scored 4,349 runs in the format, including four centuries.

Clarke takes over from Steven Mullaney and his appointment follows Haseeb Hameed being named Championship and One-Day Cup skipper.

"To be offered the captaincy is a huge honour," 27-year-old Clarke told the club website.

"We have tried to play an aggressive, entertaining brand of cricket for a long time and that is something I hope can continue whilst adding a few touches of my own.

"I want us to be fearless and to take the game on. That is what we've done to achieve success during my time here in T20 cricket."

Notts Outlaws have won the T20 Blast twice, most recently in 2020, when Clarke was in the side that beat Surrey by six wickets in the final, having been signed from Worcestershire the previous year.

He has also played in Australia's Big Bash and T20 competitions in Pakistan and the UAE.

"We have a good record in T20 cricket having made the knockout stages 12 times in the last 14 years, but we need to evolve to maintain that record and push for silverware," said Notts head coach Peter Moores.

"We're confident Joe is the man to help us in that transition; he has clear ideas to help us improve as a side and his character and energy will help integrate new faces into the squad.

"He has proven himself as one of the best white-ball batters in world cricket in recent seasons, learning from some of the best short format players around."