Clarke returns home citing personal reasons
There was still no word on how long Clarke will not be available for selection, and a back-up player was yet to be named
Cricinfo staff
08-Mar-2010
Michael Clarke will return home from New Zealand for personal reasons, Cricket Australia has announced. There was no word on how long he would be unavailable for selection and a back-up player was yet to be named.
"Michael is attending to personal, non-cricket matters and we ask on his behalf that his privacy be respected," CA general manager of cricket, Michael Brown, said.
Clarke's departure from the tour comes amid a controversy back home surrounding his fiancee Lara Bingle, whose topless photo, allegedly taken in 2006 by an Australian rules footballer, was published in a magazine last week.
The third ODI of the trans-Tasman series is on Tuesday in Hamilton, with the series squared at 1-1. The limited-overs leg of the tour is followed by two Tests, the squad for which will be announced on Tuesday.