It's official: engagement off for Bingle, Clarke

The Age

OVER: Cricketer Michael Clarke has officially ended his engagement to Lara Bingle.

Michael Clarke quits cricket tour

Lara Bingle

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Lara Bingle and Michael Clarke

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Cricketer Michael Clarke has officially ended his engagement to Lara Bingle, less than two weeks after a nude photo of the model was made public.

International Quarterback, the public relations firm representing Clarke, released a statement last night confirming the pair had split.

''They ask the media to respect their privacy during this difficult time,'' the statement said. ''No further comment will be made.''

A Cricket Australia spokesman said that Clarke would meet cricket operations manager Michael Brown today to discuss when he would rejoin the Australian team in New Zealand.

Clarke and Bingle have been hounded by the media since he abandoned the New Zealand one-day cricket tour to return to Bingle in Sydney on Monday.

It is understood the move followed Bingle, 22, arranging an exclusive interview with Women's Day about the nude photograph.

She claims AFL footballer Brendan Fevola circulated the photo of her taken in a shower during an affair between the pair in 2006 and is seeking to sue him in court.

On Thursday, it was reported Clarke was opposed to Bingle granting the interview, saying it would resurrect old news and intrude into the couple's private life.

It has been reported Bingle was paid as much as $200,000 for the interview and photo shoot, but her manager Max Markson and the magazine have denied this.

The break-up also came after AFL personality Dermott Brereton yesterday accused Bingle of lying about not knowing Brendan Fevola was married when the pair had an affair.

Brereton told SEN's Morning Glory program yesterday that he had pointed out Fevola's wife, Alex, on the night that Bingle and the then Carlton player met in 2006.

But the claims were rejected by Mr Markson, who said: ''I've got three words for you: it's not true.''

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