Richard Clarke

Richard Clarke is a cricket writer and author based just outside London. He is a columnist for The Cricket Paper and publishes the only free, weekly, email newsletter on county cricket. You can find Richard's cricket alter-ego, The Grumbler, on Twitter (@The_Grumbler). In 2020, he wrote Last-Wicket Stand, a semi-autobiographical tale about the multiple crises enveloping the English game and the challenges of midlife. It is much better than it sounds, honest!

Richard has been a betting writer for Betfair and The Sportsman. But he's also had real jobs. After freelancing as a sports journalist on national newspapers in England, he was appointed the first website editor at Arsenal FC in 2002. He would go on to manage all content at the Premier League giants until 2015. He has also worked at football organisations in the USA, Indonesia, Philippines and the UAE. Currently, Richard leads a Masters degree in Sports Media and Marketing at a specialist sports business university while running his consultancy, Sports Content Strategy.

A passionate Essex fan, his hero is Graham Gooch. Richard was at Headingley in 1991 when the moustachioed maestro hit an unbeaten 154 against a West Indies attack including Roberts, Holding, Garner and Croft in their prime. It is considered one of the greatest innings of all-time. These days, Richard enjoys nothing more than sitting at Chelmsford on a chilly Tuesday morning in September watching Sir Alastair Cook effortlessly clipping another four off his hips. Whatever makes him happy.