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This time we catch up with another Vipers new boy, Englishman Joe Clarke.

Joe was picked up at the auction in early October and coming up we hear from him on his background, his brilliant form over the past couple of years, his ambitions for the new season and plenty more. Joe has been in superb form in the past couple of years in shortform cricket and he carried that form across all formats in the 2026 UK summer.

His red ball form was outstanding, averaging well in excess of 50 and that was on top of brilliance in The Hundred for Birmingham Phoenix and his county side Nottinghamshire, leading the latter to T20 Blast finals day.

We speak about his development as a T20 player and also the fact that he’s no stranger to franchise competitions, having played in the Pakistan Super League alongside fellow Vipers newcomer Babar Azam, as well as in the Big Bash League in Australia.

Joe may not have played for the senior England team but he has featured for the Lions, the England second team, as well as the under-19s, and part of our chat sees him talking about his aspirations, not only for the Vipers but also more broadly for his county side and his chances of taking the next step to full England honours.

Joe also talks us through his previous experience in the DP World ILT20 as he previously played two seasons for the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders. That included playing alongside Andries Gous and with playing under Vipers Head Coach James Foster at Birmingham Phoenix, it means there’ll be plenty of familiar faces for Joe when he steps into the dressing room for the first time.

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We hear from Harry Tector, the franchise’s first-ever signing from Ireland.

The tall right-handed batter was picked up by the Vipers at the auction in early October and he talks with us about family (and a unique cricketing achievement by himself, his two brothers and one sister) and his past franchise experience, from featuring in the Caribbean Premier League to playing in Nepal and Bangladesh.

Harry also talks us through his love of bowling, gives us the low-down on time spend with English county side Gloucestershire and he reflects on the inaugural European T20 Premier League that took place in the Netherlands and Ireland in August and September. Harry played for the Dublin team owned by India legend Rahul Dravid and which included James Vince, once of the Gulf Giants but now heading for Sharjah in Season 5 of the DP World ILT20.

Harry speaks about the prospect of featuring in a squad with so many world-class players, his own aspirations for the DP World ILT20 this season and what it means to Irish cricket to have guaranteed spots for players in every franchise.

It’s a terrific chat, and it's well worth your time. And if you want to watch Harry and the team in person this season then go to www.thedesertvipers.com/fixtures for details of how to get hold of tickets.

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We’re back with some news: Pakistan powerhouse batter Hassan Nawaz has signed for the Vipers for Season 5.

He replaces England top-order player Aneurin Donald, who was one of the franchise’s purchases at the auction at the start of October. Aneurin has now withdrawn from this season’s tournament after being selected for England’s Twenty20 International series against Australia scheduled for November and December, and the Vipers have moved fast to bring back Hasan in his place after the latter played his part in the Season 4 triumph earlier this year.

We hear from Director of Cricket Tom Moody on the situation but ahead of that is more news – this time that tickets have now gone on sale for Season 5’s action.

The Vipers are first in action on the tournament’s opening night, Saturday the 21st of November, against MI Emirates at the Dubai International Stadium in a repeat of last season’s final, and if you want to experience that match in person then head across to thedesertvipers.com/fixtures for details of how you can secure your spot.

https://www.thedesertvipers.com
https://twitter.com/TheDesertVipers
https://www.instagram.com/thedesertvipers/

https://balqiscapital.com

https://www.thedesertvipers.com/fixtures