Joe Clarke is the joint leader in the battle for this year’s Walter Lawrence Trophy for the fastest hundred of the summer.
The Worcestershire Rapids batsman smashed a 45 ball hundred in Sunday’s eight wicket win over Durham Jets in the NatWest T20 Blast at New Road.
On the same day, England’s Alex Hales – who had a brief loan spell at New Road in 2014 – reached three figures off the same number of balls against Yorkshire Vikings at Trent Bridge in the same competition.
Clarke hit eight sixes and 10 fours in making 124 not out from 53 deliveries against the Jets as the Rapids raced past their 202 target with 11 balls to spare.
It continued his superb form since being converted into an opener in the short format of the game this summer.
Hales hammered four sixes and 14 fours in his first T20 ton for the county as his side chased down a total of 224 to win by five wickets.
Now in its 83rd year, the Walter Lawrence Trophy is open to all domestic county competitions as well as one-day Internationals, T20 internationals and Test matches in England.
Former Worcestershire player Tom Kohler-Cadmore won the trophy in 2016 after his T20 Blast century against Durham at New Road.
