WHEN England coach Shaun Wane announced 32 names at the end of June for his provisional squad to begin preparing for the Ashes series, the oldest player was 32-year-old St Helens hooker Daryl Clark.

It appeared that Wane had moved on from some of the older players who had served their time with England but by then were perhaps past their peak and could no longer be expected to perform to the required standard at the highest level.

However, that situation was reversed somewhat last week when Wane announced his 24-man squad that will actually compete against the Australians.

Clark is now only the third oldest player in the squad, with 35-year-old Alex Walmsley and 34-year-old Kallum Watkins now being drafted into the squad.

Both players enjoyed strong seasons, with Watkins having moved to Leeds Rhinos during the season and played outstandingly well as the they finished in fourth place in the regular season.

And some of the younger players who had been selected in the original squad, such as St Helens’ 19-year-old star Harry Robertson, were jettisoned by Wane last week.

As the squad currently stands, Dom Young, at 24, is the youngest player, with five other players selected who are of the same age.

So it would be hard to argue that the squad lacks experience, which Clark accepts.

“If you look at players like George Williams, the captain, and even a player as young as Jack Welsby, you can see that they all have a lot of experience,” he said.

“A lot of them like George are at the peak of their game, while Jack has been around for several years and has played in some massive games, so he’s unlikely to be overawed by what he will face.

“I know experience comes with age but you know, a lot of the younger lads have a lot of that as well.”

Of the players in the squad, Clark has enjoyed the second longest international career after Watkins, having made his England debut in 2014 against Samoa in that season’s Four Nations competition at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.

His second game that year was against Australia in Melbourne, but despite having made 13 England appearances all told, he has never faced Australia again after that 12-16 defeat in Melbourne.

“The Four Nations in 2014 was when I debuted so it’s nice to be still hanging around with a chance of making the team,” says Clark.

“But that time seems to have gone by a lot quicker than I would have anticipated.

“I’m pretty sure that everyone in the squad will say the same thing – our goal is to make a bit of history. I’ve been in and out of the squad for the last twelve years and I’ve only played against them once, so obviously the goal is to be involved and to be part of history.”