Gilchrist in record sponsorship deal

Adam Gilchrist has entered record territory with a $2 million life-long contract with Puma, overtaking Michael Clarke's recent $1.25 million deal with Dunlop-Slazenger and Steve Waugh's million-dollar agreement with MRF.

According to a report in The Sydney Morning Herald, Gilchrist's deal with Puma, and other sponsorships with Nestle, Travelex, Fox Sports and Castrol, as well as the $500,000 retainer with Cricket Australia - besides match fees - all combine to make him one of the top-earning sportsmen in Australia.

Gilchrist attributed this to cricket's reach, and said that it had helped the players. "You'd have to ask the companies, but I guess to a certain extent it shows that the game's bigger, the exposure's bigger and there's generally greater marketability for players," Gilchrist said. "This [The Puma deal] has been a work in progress for a little while and I'm looking forward to contributing to them wherever I can."

The contract more than made up for any loss of earnings Gilchrist may have suffered by opting not to play county cricket - a lucrative option for international cricketers in the off-season. Australia's hectic schedule may have had something to do with it. After touring Zimbabwe, Australia play Sri Lanka at home, then tour Holland and India, before returning home for more Tests and the VB Series. But Gilchrist believed that as long as players could handle the amount of cricket played, there would be no need to restrict them from playing county cricket.

"County cricket is an interesting debate. I just think so long as guys are honest and realistic about how they cope with the extra cricket, then I have no qualms with it. There shouldn't be a blanket policy," Gilchrist said. "For me, the break has been sensational and now it's off to camp next week."