Worcestershire opener and senior professional Daryl Mitchell says Joe Clarke has the combination of ability and mental qualities required to step up onto the full international stage with England.
Mitchell believes Clarke is "a special talent" after seeing at first hand how he adapted instantly to first team cricket at New Road and his first full campaign in 2016 produced five County Championship hundreds.
He has already represented his country at Under-19 and Lions level and has now been selected for the North versus West 50 over series in the UAE in March – another indication that he is firmly on the radar of the England selectors.
Mitchell said: "Clarkey is a special talent. He is a wonderful player. He was fantastic throughout last season really.
"For someone as young as he is, to score as many hundreds already as he has , that is a big thing.
"Scoring hundreds becomes a habit, you learn to make hundreds, and he has done that at a very early age.
"He is exceptionally good at working out situations and playing accordingly and he showed that really well in a couple of the big run chases he had. He played fantastic knocks to get us over the line.
"Can I see him becoming an England player? Absolutely. He has got the ability first and foremost. He has got a fantastic eye and great hands.
"There are probably a couple of technical aspects he can work on but from a mental perspective, he has got that confidence and desire to go on and that's a big thing.
"He works out situations out incredibly well for a young man. He has got quite a wise head in cricketing terms for a young kid.
"He has got every opportunity (to be selected) as long as he keeps working hard and doing the right things."
