Michael Clarke has abruptly quit the tour of New Zealand due to undisclosed 8220;personal reasons8221; amid speculation that the Australian vice-captain has flown back home to be with his scandal-hit girlfriend.
Tasmanian batsman George Bailey will replace Clarke in the Australian ODI squad for the ongoing five-match series against New Zealand.
8220;Michael Clarke has returned to Australia for personal reasons for the time being,8221; Cricket Australia CA said in a statement.
8220;Due to Clarke returning to Australia for personal reasons,the National Selection Panel has added George Bailey to the one day squad,8221; National Selection Panel NSP Chairman Andrew Hilditch said.
Clarke8217;s girlfriend,swimsuit model Lara Bingle,is currently at the center of a furore Down Under ever since her nude pictures,taken by an ex-boyfriend,were published by a magazine.
Bingle has sued the man,a footballer named Brendon Fevola,saying she felt violated,humiliated and betrayed. 8220;When I found out about it,I just felt like I had been violated. I do blame him Fevola. It was a complete betrayal at a time of my life when I trusted him. I was vulnerable and it was a total mistake to trust him,8221; Bingle told the magazine which published those pictures.
8220;I also feel exploited and compromised by the release of a photograph I never gave permission to him to take 8211; and one he promised he had deleted when he realised how upset I was that he would do that.
8220;It should never have been taken in the first place. It was definitely an invasion of my privacy and I had always understood it had been deleted,8221; she added.