It's important to have variations: Clark

Theres more to bowling in the sub-continent than just pace, says NSW veteran

The New South Wales paceman has already displayed the benefits of his meticulous method, which he attributes to his days as a real estate agent, with some crucial strikes for the Blues in the Champions League.

In a chat with Deccan Herald, the 34-year old revealed his love for India and experience of bowling in Indian conditions, among other things. Excerpts:

How was your experience playing in the Champions League?

This is a pretty amazing concept. There are a lot of good teams and good players in the event. For me, this has been a different challenge, especially bowling in batsmen-friendly Indian pitches in a format like T20 in which batsmen always try to come after you.

Have you enjoyed the experience?

Oh yes, very much. Bowling here is very different from bowling in Australia where you get a lot of carry and bounce. Here you will take some time to get used to the conditions and you also need to rethink on your strategies or you will have a very ugly analysis at the end of the day.

As a bowler, was it a bit scary to see Kieron Pollard hitting out like that against NSW the other day?

No, it was more of disbelief. What Kieron did was really sensational, and Henriques is a good bowler too. We went up to Henriques and suggested some points, but when a batsman plays like, that there will not be much place for strategies. You just have to forget the day and move on and think about the next day.

As a pace bowler, is it a bit strange feeling for you to bowl with the wicket-keeper standing up?

A little, because I am not used to that in Australia where you will get good carry to the stumper. But again, my forte is not searing pace say like Lee or Bollinger. I have my own areas like line, length and movement. In sub-continental pitches it is also important to have variations.

Look at Lee, he uses the slower ball to good effect here in India. Also, the ’keeper standing up might refrain the batsmen from walking down the crease or try some innovative shots shuffling too much in the crease. The strategy works well for me here.

So, the presence of fast bowlers like Lee and Bollinger at the other end helps you?

Yes, a lot.  Batsmen are reluctant to take a lot of chances against Lee and Bollinger who bowl at a lively pace. That makes it much easier for me because when I come to bowl the batsmen will already be under quite a bit pressure.

Sometimes, you can go for some runs as batsmen may succeed taking his risks. But more often than not, I am the beneficiary of batsmen’s urge to score quickly.

It is important in T20 to bowl a few dot balls and build pressure, and that is what I am looking for.

Tell us about your connection with India…

My parents (Bruce from Chennai and Mary Clark from KGF, Karnataka) were born in India during the World War. They had English passports, so they moved to England after spending some 20 years in India and then settled in Australia. Those were tough times. The biggest thing I have learned from them is, in life or in cricket, don’t take anything for granted.

I love coming to India. I enjoy the culture, people and food here. I try to stay here as much I can when I come to India. Since my mom and dad are from here, I feel coming to India as a sort of homecoming.”