Why has Michael Clarke left New Zealand tour?

Question

Why has Australia vice-captain Michael Clarke flown home from Australia’s tour of New Zealand? And how long will the batsmen be away for?

Answer 1

The official line, given by Cricket Australia general manager Michael Brown is that “Michael is attending to personal, non-cricket matters and we ask on his behalf that his privacy be respected”.

However it has been reported in Australian newspaper, Sydney’s Daily Telegraph, that Clarke has left the tour to support his fiancée, Lara Bingle, through the fallout from a nude photograph that appeared in an Australian women’s magazine.