Born in
Perth, Western Australia, Clark made his
first-class debut for
Western Australia in 1974–75 and replaced fellow fast bowler
Mick Malone for a game in 1975–76. However he was not a regular member of the West Australian team until 1976–77 when he took 25 wickets at 26.96. In his first eight first class games Clark took 30 wickets at an average of 28. He was part of the West Australian attack who defeated
Queensland in a
Gillette Cup semi-final, defending 77.
International Career: 1977–78 vs India Clark's efforts saw him receive an offer from
Kerry Packer to be a part of
World Series Cricket (WSC). He eventually turned it down, with Clark's business adviser Bert Hewitt saying a "sense of sporting patriotism and loyalty" was the overriding factor behind the decision. Clark took eight wickets in the first two games of the 1977–78 summer at 32.63 and was rewarded by selection in the Australian side against
India for the first Test. The bowling attack consisted of fast bowlers Clark, Jeff Thomson,
Alan Hurst and spinner
Tony Mann. Clark had an excellent game, taking 4–46 in the first innings (including the wickets of
Sunil Gavaskar and
Mohinder Amarnath) and 4–101 in the second (including Gavaskar again and
Dilip Vengsarkar). His second innings knock of 12, including a 31 run partnership with Jeff Thomson, proved unexpectedly crucial as Australia won by 16 runs. There were press reports about the legitimacy of Clark's action. "I don't know that all the fuss is about", said Indian captain
Bishen Bedi. "None of our officials or players have said they consider Clark throws the ball – it's something that has been blown up by the Press". Clark had a strong second Test, taking 2–95 and 2–83 (Gavaskar in both innings) with useful scores with the bat of 15 and 5 not out – the latter was important as he and Thomson chased down the 12 runs to win with two wickets in hand. He kept his place for the next two tests. In the third Test Clark took 4–73 and 4–96, but Australia's batting was not as strong an India won by 222 runs (Clark's second innings score of 33 was Australia's second highest). He took 2–66 in the fourth Test, but India won by an innings and 2 runs. He suffered a bad back injury that saw him miss a
Sheffield Shield game but recovered to play a Gillette Cup match against
New South Wales, taking 4–20 off 7.2 overs and winning the man of the match award. Australia fought back to win the 5th test. It was a difficult game for Australia's bowlers as Thomson broke down early in India's first innings. Clark took 4–62 and 2–79. Clark took 28 wickets for the series, which was still the record for the most wickets taken in a series without taking 5 wickets in an innings until overtaken by
Pat Cummins in the
2019 Ashes series in England.
Wisden later reported that Clark "bowled an excellent line and length, even though called upon to do a lot of work. He invariably broke through with the new ball and had a splendid record of dismissing Gavaskar, the principal danger to the Australians." His work earned him selection on the 1978 tour of the West Indies.
1977–78 West Indies Tour Clark played in four tests against the
West Indies. In the first test he took 0–41. The second 2–77 with reports saying he "bowled gallantly without luck." The third he got 4–65 and 4–124, helping set up Australia's sole test victory. In a game against
Windward Islands, Clark took a career best 12–70. The fourth test Clark took 3–65 and 2–62 but Australia collapsed in the second innings and lost the game. Continually dogged by back trouble, Clark was rested for the game against
Jamaica. Clark was the centre of controversy during the tour when local umpire
Douglas Sang Hue publicly expressed his doubts about the legality of Clark and teammate
Bruce Yardley's bowling, although neither had ever been called for throwing before. This statement and the no balling of Yardley for throwing in a tour match led to Sang Hue's appointment to umpire the 5th and final Test of the series to be withdrawn, which in turn led to anger from the West Indian public who believed Sang Hue was replaced at the Australian team's request. Clark took 31 first class wickets at 23.35 for the tour and 15 wickets at 30.73 for the Tests.
1978–79 Summer England toured Australia for the 1978–79 summer. At the beginning of the season English captain
Mike Brearley said he expected Clark to be one of the players to give his team the most trouble. However Clark began the domestic season slowly and was replaced by Alan Hurst,
Rodney Hogg and
Geoff Dymock. His form improved later in the summer taking 6–47 against
South Australia, 5–54 against
Victoria and 6–39 against Queensland. Clark returned to the Australian team for the first Test against
Pakistan, replacing the injured
Trevor Laughlin. Clark took 1–56 and 0–47 in an Australian defeat. He was dropped for the second test in favour of Laughlin. He took 35 first-class wickets at 30.25 over the summer and was overlooked for the
1979 Cricket World Cup and tour of India.
Later career Clark was not selected for the WA team at the start of the 1979–80 summer. However he forced his way back into the team and was part of Western Australia's Sheffield Shield winning sides in 1980–81 and 1983–84; he captained the side in some games. His best season was in 1982–83 when he took 31 wickets at 25.83. ==Coaching career==