Whilst his Test bowling figures are not exceptional, and he was one of several particularly fast West Indies' bowlers at the time, Clarke nevertheless gained a reputation amongst his fellow players as the most intimidating and feared fast bowler of his generation. In his obituary in "The Guardian", it was written "like the Jamaican Roy Gilchrist in the 1950s, and his fellow Bajan, Charlie Griffith, in the 1960s, Clarke's weaponry was based more on sheer menace than technical accomplishment. He induced fear and self-doubt in even the best batsmen." Viv Richards claimed Clarke was the only bowler he did not feel comfortable batting against, David Gower stated that Clarke was by far the fastest man he ever faced, Geoff Boycott said Clarke "scared me silly", and in the mid-1980s Garry Sobers wrote that Clarke was "the quickest and most hostile fast bowler now playing in world cricket".