The Melbourne Renegades have made a significant signing for the upcoming Big Bash League (BBL) season by acquiring English wicketkeeper-batter Joe Clarke from their cross-town rivals, the Stars.

The Stars’ most important player for the past two seasons has been Joe Clarke, who briefly played for the Perth Scorchers in the 2020–21 season. He accumulated an astounding 800 runs with a strike rate of 136.98 and an average of 30.76 throughout this time.

Clarke now joins the Renegades as their third overseas signing, alongside Quinton de Kock and Mujeeb Ur Rahman. Unlike the first two picks, Clarke wasn’t selected during the initial draft process. However, a mechanism allows clubs to make additional signings after the draft has taken place.

Clarke is expected to open the batting alongside Quinton de Kock. Initially, de Kock will take up wicketkeeping duties, but when he returns to South Africa for the SA20, Clarke will take over as the wicketkeeper.

However, the Renegades will need to secure another wicketkeeping option since Clarke is set to leave for ILT20 towards the latter part of the BBL season. They previously lost Sam Harper, who was traded to the Stars in exchange for Adam Zampa.

Melbourne Renegades’ General Manager, James Rosengarten, expressed the team’s strategy in signing Joe Clarke, stating, “Joe was an active part of our overseas draft strategy this year. While we were limited in how we could use our picks at the overseas player draft, we had a plan to secure Joe as quickly as we could, and it came off, which is great for our club.”

Rosengarten also highlighted Clarke’s versatility, saying, “To have secured three overseas players that were listed in the platinum overseas player group is a super result for the Renegades and our members and fans. While Quinton will take the gloves as our primary wicketkeeper, Joe is also a strong keeper who will be able to keep when Quinton is unavailable, giving us greater flexibility with our overseas replacement player options.”

“We really like the way Joe plays the game,” Rosengarten added. “He’s an attacking player from the top who can set up a game quickly, and we think he’ll be a perfect fit with our other top-order batters.”

It’s worth noting that the Renegades will also lose Mujeeb Ur Rahman later in the season due to his ILT20 commitments.