Michael Clarke slapped by girlfriend in wild brawl, could lose commentary deal for Border-Gavaskar Trophy
Clarke, Australia's 2015 World Cup-winning captain, was involved in a heated debate with his girlfriend Jade Yarbrough during their holiday in Noosa, Queensland. The video was filmed by a standard, in which Clarke can be seen being slapped by Yarbrough, who accuses the former Australian batter of cheating, which he continues to deny.
Former Australia captain Michael Clarke could be in danger of losing out on a lucrative commentary deal for the India vs Australia Border-Gavaskar Trophy after a video of his wild altercation with girlfriend went viral on social media.
Clarke, Australia's 2015 World Cup-winning captain, was involved in a heated debate with his girlfriend Jade Yarbrough during their holiday in Noosa, Queensland. The video was filmed by a standard, in which Clarke can be seen being slapped by Yarbrough, who accuses the former Australian batter of cheating, which he continues to deny.
The close to three-minute video is filmed from far away and has blurry visuals but the audio is quite clear. Yarbrough can be heard screaming about Clarke's alleged physical relationship with his ex-girlfriend, high-profile fashion designer, Pip Edwards.
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"You want to send her to India with you?' Yarbrough yells in the video. "I have seen the texts. 'You're the love of my life Pip, come with me to India'," she adds before slapping Clarke across his face even as the 41-year-old pleads innocence.
Clarke was accompanied by Yarbrough, her sister Jasmine and her husband and media personality Karl Stefanovic.
The video was published by The Daily Telegraph. Reports in the Australian media claimed that the Australian cricket great has already lost a potential deal with a skincare brand.
There has been no official comment on the incident from Cricket Australia but they have reportedly launched an investigation into the matter.
If multiple Australian media reports are to be believed then this could be just the beginning of Clarke's troubles. The former right-handed batter could lose his commentary deal for four-match Test series in India. BCCI, the Indian cricket board, and the host broadcasters, Star Sports, hold the right for awarding or terminating the contract of all commentators.
Clarke, who has represented Australia in 115 tests, 245 ODIs, and 34 T20Is, scoring 8643, 7981 and 488 runs respectively, has issued an apology for his behaviour.
"I'm absolutely gutted I've put people I hold in the highest regard in this position. My actions in the lead-up to this altercation were nothing short of shameful and regrettable. I own this fully and am the only one at fault," Clarke told The Daily Telegraph.
Australia are slated to tour India for a four-match Test series after nearly six years. The Test series begins on February 9 in Nagpur.
