St Kitts & Nevis Patriots sign New Zealand’s Josh Clarkson for CPL 2024

The St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, plagued by injuries in the early stages of the CPL 2024, have added firepower to their lineup by signing New Zealand’s Josh Clarkson. The 27-year-old, known for his explosive batting and brisk pace bowling, marks his first franchise T20 league stint with this signing. Despite being awarded his first New Zealand central contract, Clarkson isn’t in the Test plans yet, making him available for the Patriots.

Clarkson has an impressive T20 record, with 1,673 runs at a strike rate of 147.40 and 11 wickets at an economy rate of 9.15 from 89 matches. He joins the Patriots as a replacement for Zimbabwean allrounder Sikandar Raza, who was ruled out of the tournament due to injury. The team has also brought in Mohammad Mohsin, a USA-based wrist-spinner originally from Pakistan, who has shown promise with 15 wickets at an economy of 7.43 for Texas Super Kings.

Patriots head coach optimistic after signing New Zealand’s Josh Clarkson

Patriots head coach Malolan Rangarajan, despite the team’s rocky start, remains optimistic. He acknowledges the injuries that have disrupted the team’s balance but commends the players’ resilience. The Patriots kicked off their season with a thrilling last-ball win against the Antigua & Barbuda Falcons but suffered consecutive defeats against Trinbago Knight Riders and St Lucia Kings at home, despite posting 200-plus totals.

“Obviously, we started off the tournament with an unfortunate injury to Sikandar Raza, who was a well-thought out and important pick for us,” Malolan said on Tuesday before Patriots had announced New Zealand’s Josh Clarkson as their new signing.

“We’ve scrambled and we’ve tried to sign a replacement and we’ve had a few hiccups at the start of [the season], with Sherfane [Rutherford] missing out the first game and Rilee [Rossouw] getting injured in the first innings of our fielding. But I think the boys have responded brilliantly to all the challenges that’ve been posed at them.”

Captain Andre Fletcher emphasized the need for better execution, particularly in bowling and fielding. With seven dropped catches so far, Fletcher stresses the importance of converting hard work into on-field success. He also focuses on maintaining team unity and morale, especially after a challenging run over the past two seasons.

“We need to entertain with a win,” Fletcher remarked, reinforcing the Patriots’ commitment to turning their season around. As they prepare for their upcoming matches, the Patriots are determined to regroup and deliver stronger performances, with Clarkson and Mohsin playing crucial roles in their quest for victory.

“Well, it’s all about execution,” Fletcher said. “We’ve been working hard as a bowling unit, I must say. Even before the tournament started, we had a camp here in St Kitts and then we played a practice game in Nevis. We’ve been working hard as a bowling unit.

The guys have been putting in the effort as to bowling with the wet ball and bowling [at the] death and bowling actually to one side of the field, thinking about whether this batter from the other team is playing and how we’re going to bowl to this batsman. The effort is there and the practice as I mentioned we put in a lot, but it just boils down to execution. We haven’t been executing as well as we ought to but, I’m confident.”