England list Clarke in reserve for West Indies after international blacklisting

Joe Clarke is one of England’s reserve players for their tour of the West Indies, having been blacklisted by the ECB back in 2019

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Nottinghamshire batter Joe Clarke has been named as one of England ‘s reserve players for next month’s three-Test series against the West Indies.

England named a 16-man Test squad on Tuesday and have also produced a list of reserves who could be called upon if a player suffers an injury or contracts Covid.

Clarke’s inclusion among the reserves is notable given the ECB told him back in 2019 that he would not be considered for England selection after his off-field behaviour came under scrutiny during the rape trial of his former Worcestershire teammate Alex Hepburn.

During the trial, Clarke was named as a member of a WhatsApp group which featured disrespectful messages about women and was described by the judge as a “pathetic sexist game to collect as many sexual encounters as possible”.

Hepburn was charged with two counts of rape in 2017 and found guilty at a retrial in 2019, getting sentenced to five years in prison.

Clarke and then-teammate Tom Kohler-Cadmore were both fined and suspended by the ECB after being found to have brought the game into disrepute with their involvement in the WhatsApp group.

Both players were also dropped from an England Lions squad and blacklisted from international selection.

Neither Clarke or Kohler-Cadmore were suspected of committing an offence.

The pair have not been picked by England or the Lions since, although Kohler-Cadmore was named in a 55-man training group in 2020 when cricket first returned during the pandemic.

Clarke told The Cricketer last year that he had not been in direct contact with the ECB for two-and-a-half years and, despite being considered one of the most talented young batters in English cricket, he remains uncapped.

Having opted not to enter the IPL auction this year in order to play in the opening rounds of the County Championship and try and earn a Test call-up, Clarke’s inclusion as a reserve for next month’s tour suggests that is a possibility.