Michael Clarke will make his Hampshire one-day debut at Edgbaston tomorrow.

Clarke, 23, has already made a huge impact in one day international cricket since starring on his debut against an England side including Warwickshire captain Nick Knight 15 months ago.

In that day-night match in Adelaide he helped fellow Hampshire overseas player Shane Watson steer Australia to a four-wicket win - and has gone on to play 24 more ODIs.

Earlier this year he won the Man of the Match award for scoring an unbeaten 44 and taking 2-36 against India in the final of the TVS Cup in Calcutta.

And against Warwickshire tomorrow he will make his first appearance for the Hampshire Hawks in the Totesport League.

Clarke has already made a big impact at Hampshire. Against Durham in the championship last week he stroked a boundary from the first ball he faced in county cricket before reaching his fifty off just 38 balls.

"We've got one of the best batsmen in one day cricket in Michael Clarke," admits Hampshire's former England seamer Alan Mullally.

"He's a quick learner, which is what you need in this game, and playing county cricket will teach him a lot, but he's already a class above anyone his own age in the world today.

"He's got all the shots. I would say his only weakness is his lack of experience.

"I'm still learning at the age of 34 - but he's only just 23."

Clarke has played in England before. As well as having a season with Lancashire League side Ramsbottom CC, he was vice-captain of the Australia under-19 side that toured England in 1999.

"I first heard about him when he broke into the New South Wales team as an 18-year-old," added Mullally.

"And it didn't take him long to jump ahead of players like Mike Hussey, Matt Elliott, Michael Slater and Brad Hodge and go straight into the one-day team.

"It's taking a bit longer for him to break into the Test team because they're one of the best sides of all time. If he was from any other country he'd already be playing Test cricket - and we've already asked him if he's got an English grandmother! But he'll be playing Test cricket soon because he works hard as well as being very talented."

Mullally reckons that the additions of Clarke and Shane Warne will ensure that the Hawks build on last year's promotion, which was achieved in the final game at Derby - despite a run of four successive defeats at the end of the campaign.

"It's a clean slate," added Mullally. "We've practised with the white ball for the last few days and have been full of confidence since beating Durham. Warwickshire are always up there and are always competitive, they know how to win, so it will be a tough game, especially in their own backyard.

"But we're confident, we've just been promoted and in Shaun Udal and Dimitri Mascarenhas we have two of the best one-day players in the country. They've done the business in one-day cricket in game after game and hopefully they can maintain that this year."