Cricketer Jordan Clark had his £18,000 Rolex stolen from his wrist by two intruders while he slept

Jordan Clark had his Rolex watch stolen from his wrist while sleeping in a Birmingham hotel room in a chilling player security breach at the end of the 2022 season.

Clark was on Hundred duty with Northern Superchargers when the incident occurred at the city’s Hyatt in the early hours of August 20.

The 32-year-old – a contemporary of England captain Ben Stokes in Cumbrian junior cricket – did not play in the previous night’s game, but had stayed in Birmingham to socialize with the Phoenix’s Liam Livingstone, a fellow Cumbrian and ex- Lancashire team. mate.

Clark had lost his cell phone on his way to an appointment at one of the town’s bars and reported it missing to the front desk when he returned to the hotel about four hours later.

However, when he awoke later that day, his phone had mysteriously reappeared on his bedside table, but his Rolex Datejust watch – estimated to be worth between £16,000 and £18,000 – had disappeared.

Clark was on Hundred duty with Northern Superchargers when the incident occurred at the city’s Hyatt in the early hours of August 20.

Clark, who will start the 2023 campaign as a county champion as a Surrey player, then asked hotel staff to review the CCTV footage and confirm that the watch was on his wrist when he entered the lobby from his night out.

With Superchargers teammate Roelof van der Merwe as a witness, this was confirmed, while the security camera footage showed two men entering Clark’s room shortly after 6 a.m.

The footage was later lost, and without the footage, police concluded there was not enough evidence to show that a crime had been committed.

Significantly, however, Clark took a screenshot of the CCTV footage of the individuals entering his room and the hotel’s insurers eventually paid out the watch’s face value of £13,000 – the amount paid by his Australian wife Dominique for what his 30th birthday present. – in January after acknowledgment of liability.

However, because Rolex watches tend to increase in value, he technically had no money and was also distressed by the loss of an item of immense sentimental significance.

The extreme invasion of privacy and security – reminiscent of intruders filming video in Virat Kohl’s hotel room in Perth during last year’s Twenty20 World Cup in Australia – further angered Clark because Dominique and their young son Teddy had been at home the previous night. had stayed with him before returning home on the day of the Superchargers’ victory.

Clark’s Rolex was stolen from his wrist by two intruders while he slept at the Birmingham hotel (one of the suspected intruders pictured above)

“The watch meant a lot to me, but it made me think about what could have happened. It could have been a lot worse, and I wouldn’t wish this experience on anyone,” Clark told Sportsmail, adding that he was “in shock” at how easily non-residents could enter a room. During overseas travel, it has become common practice for floors with English players to be closed off and for other guests to place restrictions on the use of elevators.

Clark’s phone fell out of his pocket during a taxi ride, and after initially trying to find out the location of his belongings by calling him with others’, he gave up. Crucially, however, his ID was in the back of the phone case.

These personal effects provided the information to trace him to the Hyatt, and for those in possession to be taken to the floor where Clark was staying.

“When I asked them to look at the CCTV footage, they wouldn’t let me enter the room itself, but the man came out and asked if I knew these two people? He showed me a picture on his phone and told me the room had been opened for two minutes around 6:15 am,” Clark said.

The immediate aftermath of the incident was both “annoying and exhausting,” Clark added, explaining that the security guard he dealt with later told him to claim his personal home insurance, while the police officer investigating suggested that he had been drunk and maybe the look while you are away or on the way between the lobby and the hotel room.

Clark says he was also ordered by police not to respond to an Instagram message from an anonymous account hours after his phone was returned, saying, “I’m sending you my details, can you transfer the reward?”

The hotel’s insurers eventually paid out the watch’s face value of £13,000 – the amount paid by his Australian wife Dominique for his 30th birthday present

An ECB spokesman confirmed that security for Hundred teams is the same as for England when they play home internationals. However, Clark, van der Merwe and Michael Pepper were among a group that had chosen to remain in Birmingham when the rest of the Superchargers party, including security personnel, had traveled back to Leeds after the game.

After Clark reported the events, the ECB lobbied the Hyatt on his behalf and the hotel management informed the governing body that in addition to accepting liability for the financial loss, a full review of security had taken place and new staff and protocols had been put in place . ahead.

And it seems to have been enough to satisfy the ECB – although England will be staying elsewhere when playing Edgbaston, the spokesman confirmed that the Hyatt will be considered as an option for visiting teams during this year’s Hundred.

Both Hyatt Police and West Midlands Police were contacted for comment.