It happened to Joe and Billy Root earlier this summer and now it’s the turn of Jordan and Graham Clark, the Cumbrian brothers who are likely to face off on Friday during the opening night of the NatWest T20 Blast.
The Roots came up against each other for the first time when Yorkshire beat Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge in April. Up at Emirates Riverside, batsman Graham’s Durham will host older brother and all-rounder Jordan’s Lancashire.
It’s not quite the first time they have played against each other, but it will be their first first-team encounter.
Jordan got Graham out in a Second XI Trophy match in 2012 before Graham’s first appearance for Durham’s first team, on their pre-season tour of Dubai in 2015, saw the first ball he faced bowled by Jordan.
“It was an outside edge and beat third-man!” recalled Jordan, 26, who insists there won’t be any special treatment. “We seem to keep missing each other in the first team, this year being an obvious example with me out injured for the one-dayer up there with my back.
“You’ve obviously got it in the back of your head that he’s your brother, but if you’re bowling at him, it’s just another batsman at the crease. I’m not going to go any harder or any less to him than I would anybody else. I know his strengths and what he’s good at. He’s pretty good on the short ball, so I won’t wrap it around his head first ball. He’s struck a bit of form of late, with the red ball too.
“He obviously had a very good end to the Royal London with 90 and 100-odd. Hopefully he carries on his form. I always want him to do well. I think he works harder than any of us. He’s put in the hard yards for years. To see that rewarding him is great.
“To be fair, he got bullied when we were kids. Myself and my older brother used to bat for days in the back yard and Graham used to come in and get out first or second ball. We always look back and reminisce about those times because that’s all we used to do for hours and days.
“It’s funny how it turns around. Now he’s the one batting for days. Mind you, it would be quite funny if I got him out early on Friday.”
Graham, aged 24, and Jordan are part of a strong cricket family. Their older brother Darren played Minor Counties cricket for Cumberland as well as on the winning side at Lord’s for Cleator in the final of the National Village Knockout in 2013 alongside father Ian. Ian and his wife are regulars at Lancashire and Durham games.
“My dad always says he’s a Durham fan,” said Jordan. “Last time he was at Old Trafford when we played Durham, he had a Durham top on and a Lancashire furry hat. Al Davies’s dad has a picture of it somewhere.
“My mum and dad always come together. If dad has a Durham top on, mum will keep the peace and wear a Lancashire top. When they come to watch here, they sit with Al Davies’s parents and Steve Livingstone (Liam’s dad). They’re all Lancs fans, so dad just likes to stir the pot a bit.”
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Jordan had trials at Durham aged 13 or 14 before going to Sedbergh School: “It ended up being more Lancashire there,” he said. “With Graham being back at home in Cumbria, he went down the Durham path.”
Like Graham, Jordan is enjoying an impressive year. He scored his maiden Championship century in an early-season draw at Surrey and has taken 16 wickets. In the Royal London one-Day Cup, he was Lancashire’s leading wicket-taker with 10 and added two fifties in a haul of 270 runs.
“My own form, it’s been down to hard work this year,” he added. “My plans are clearer, especially with the bat. I’ve felt in much better touch. So I go into the Blast with a lot of confidence. Lancs have generally been up there amongst the best teams. With the disappointment of last year, I’m backing us to put it together this year.”