OTD: Nolan Clarke became the oldest player aged 47 years to make his ODI debut in the Netherlands’s first World Cup game against New Zealand in Vadodara in 1996

A 47-year-old debutant, you heard it right. Nolan Clarke made his debut for the Netherlands in the World Cup 1996 at the age of 47. Today is a special day for him as he made his international debut on this day against New Zealand in a World Cup group stage match in Vadodara. It was a memorable debut for him as it had taken too long and too much travel for him to play international cricket. 

Barbados to the Netherlands 

Nolan Clarke was born in Barbados and he started playing cricket in the period when West Indies started dominating international cricket. Unfortunately, he could never break into the West Indies team which was a star-studded unit with the likes of Clive Lloyd, Viv Richards, Desmond Haynes, and Gordon Greenidge forming the core of the team. 

But a dream nurtured and nourished by undying conviction and will to fight for it always gets realized. Nolan Clarke’s dream also came true on the biggest stage of world cricket when he got an opportunity to make his debut in international cricket for the Netherlands in the World Cup.

It was the group stage when New Zealand and West Indies faced off. The Kiwis won the toss and decided to bat first. The Dutch had initial success by dismissing Nathan Astle but they could not extend this momentum as New Zealand clawed back with a resilient partnership between Stephen Fleming and Craig Spearman. At the end of the first innings, New Zealand posted 307 runs on the board which was a huge target for the Netherlands to chase. 

Nolan Clarke opened the innings with Peter Cantrell for the Dutch team. Clarke scored a couple of boundaries but got dismissed soon with only 14 runs to his name. The Dutch eventually lost the match and Clarke played only four matches after that. It was a short international career but it had a message for others. Never stop chasing your dreams!