Born in Australia, Claydon used his English passport to create a career for himself in the United Kingdom. With Darren Lehmann, he made his presence felt with Yorkshire, but bereft of many opportunities, he was released from the squad at the end of the 2006 season.

Claydon then spent a few seasons with Durham, but with the county enjoying a renaissance of depth in their pace bowling department, it was evident that Claydon would struggle for game time. He then joined Kent on a loan and it was here that he began to prosper as a lead bowler. Claydon would soon turn up to be a more than utility bowler for Kent and quickly became a team regular - with Kent offering him a contract in 2014. Claydon's strength is his ability to contain and his effectiveness during the death overs of a Twenty20 match has been very handy for Kent.