Clarke is still learning from youngsters at the age of 38!

THEY say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but try telling that to Surrey veteran Rikki Clarke.

- Bradley West

The 38-year-old all-rounder started his third decade as a professional cricketer in 2020 but, if his returns since re-joining Surrey are anything to go by, Clarke is ageing like a fine wine.

After swapping Birmingham for south London in 2017, Clarke has been a man reborn, topping Surrey’s first-class bowling averages that year before taking 47 wickets at an average of 21.53 in the county’s victorious 2018 campaign and 43 at an average of 23.97 in 2019.

Meanwhile his runs, 662 at an average of 33 last season, have been more than handy too with these attributes combining to create a player who is in the best form of his career and still learning.

Even this unique season hasn’t seemed to slow him down, with Clarke taking three wickets and providing a battling rearguard in Surrey’s opening game defeat to Middlesex in the Bob Willis Trophy.

“Even though I’m 38 I’m still learning,” Clarke said.

“I believe you’re always learning in the game so I can still learn off these younger guys and hopefully they can learn off me too.

“I think over the years I’ve been a fine tinkerer of the game. When I was younger I went away a lot and was changing too much. That put me in a bit of a stumbling block of thinking what was Rikki Clarke? What was my identity as a cricketer?