Jordan Clark had his Rolex watch stolen off his wrist whereas asleep in a Birmingham resort room in a chillingly disturbing breach of participant safety on the finish of the 2022 season.
Clark was on Hundred obligation with Northern Superchargers when the incident occurred on the metropolis’s Hyatt within the early hours of August 20.
The 32-year-old – a recent of England captain Ben Stokes in junior cricket in Cumbria – didn’t play within the earlier night’s match however had remained in Birmingham to socialize with the Phoenix’s Liam Livingstone, a fellow Cumbrian and ex-Lancashire team-mate.
Clark had misplaced his cell phone on the way in which to assembly up at one of many metropolis’s bars and reported it lacking to reception upon returning to the resort roughly 4 hours later.
When he awoke later that day, nonetheless, his cellphone had mysteriously reappeared on his bedside desk however his Rolex Datejust watch – estimated to be value between £16,000 and £18,000 – was gone.
Jordan Clark (above) had his Rolex watch stolen off his wrist whereas asleep in a Birmingham resort room in a chillingly disturbing breach of participant safety on the finish of the 2022 season
Clark was on Hundred obligation with Northern Superchargers when the incident occurred on the metropolis’s Hyatt within the early hours of August 20
Clark, who as a Surrey participant begins the 2023 marketing campaign as a county champion, subsequently requested resort employees to view its CCTV feed and make sure the watch was on his wrist when he entered the foyer from his night time out.
With Superchargers team-mate Roelof van der Merwe as a witness, this was confirmed, whereas the safety digicam footage revealed two males coming into Clark’s room shortly after 6am.
The footage later went lacking and with out it police concluded there was not enough proof to show against the law had been dedicated.
Considerably, nonetheless, Clark had taken a display screen shot of the CCVT stills of the people coming into his room and the resort’s insurers ultimately paid out the watch’s face worth of £13,000 – the quantity his Australian spouse Dominique had paid for what was his thirtieth birthday current – in January following an admission of legal responsibility.
Nonetheless, as Rolex watches have a tendency to extend in worth, he was technically out of pocket in addition to being upset on the lack of an merchandise with big sentimental significance.
The acute invasion of privateness and security – harking back to intruders videoing Virat Kohl’s Perth resort room ultimately 12 months’s Twenty20 World Cup in Australia – additional angered Clark as a result of Dominique and their younger son Teddy had been staying with him the earlier night time, earlier than returning residence on the day of the Superchargers’ win.
Clark’s Rolex stolen off his wrist by two intruders whereas he slept within the resort in Birmingham (one of many suspected intruders pictured above)
‘The watch meant quite a bit to me, nevertheless it made me take into consideration what might’ve occurred. It might have been quite a bit worse, and I wouldn’t want the expertise on anybody,’ Clark instructed Sportsmail, including that he was ‘in shock’ at how simply non-residents might entry a room. On abroad journeys, it has develop into commonplace for flooring housing England gamers to be sealed off and restrictions positioned on the usage of lifts by different friends.
Clark’s cellphone fell out of his pocket throughout a taxi journey, and after initially making an attempt to find the whereabouts of his belongings by ringing it from these of others, gave up. Crucially, although, his ID was tucked behind the cellphone case.
These private results offered the knowledge to hint him to the Hyatt, and for these in possession of them to be taken to the ground on which Clark was staying.
‘Once I requested them to take a look at the CCTV, they wouldn’t let me into the room itself, however the man got here out and requested whether or not I knew these two folks? He confirmed me a photograph on his cellphone and instructed me the room had been opened for 2 minutes at round 6.15am,’ Clark stated.
The instant aftermath of the incident was each ‘infuriating and draining’, Clark added, explaining that the safety guard he handled later instructed him to say on his private home insurance coverage whereas the police officer investigating implied he’d been drunk and maybe misplaced the watch both whereas out or on the journey between foyer and resort room.
Clark says he was additionally instructed by police to not reply to an Instagram message from an nameless account hours after his cellphone was returned, which learn: ‘I’ll ship you my particulars, are you able to switch the reward?’
The resort’s insurers ultimately paid out the watch’s face worth of £13,000 – the quantity his Australian spouse Dominique had paid for what was his thirtieth birthday current
An ECB spokesperson confirmed that safety for Hundred groups replicates that offered to England after they play residence internationals. Nonetheless, Clark, van der Merwe and Michael Pepper had been amongst a bunch that had chosen to remain in Birmingham when the remainder of the Superchargers social gathering together with its safety personnel had travelled again to Leeds post-match.
After Clark reported the occasions, the ECB lobbied the Hyatt on his behalf and the resort administration knowledgeable the governing physique that along with accepting legal responsibility for the monetary loss, a full assessment had taken place of safety and new personnel and protocols had been in place going ahead.
And it seems to have been sufficient to fulfill the ECB – though England keep elsewhere when enjoying at Edgbaston, the spokesperson confirmed the Hyatt will likely be thought-about as an possibility for visiting groups throughout this 12 months’s Hundred.
Each the Hyatt and West Midlands Police had been contacted for remark.
