Clarke to sign $1m bat deal

Australian cricket captain Michael Clarke is reportedly set to sign a new contract with a bat sponsor worth more than $1 million.

Fairfax newspapers reported the 30-year-old, who scored a record at the SCG of 329 not out against India last week, has made a handshake agreement with bat manufacturer Spartan Sports.

“The last I heard, there was a handshake agreement and a contract for a three-year deal with Spartan worth seven figures,” a source reportedly told Fairfax.

“If you said the deal was worth well over a million dollars, you wouldn’t be wrong.”

Clarke played without any logos on his bat during the Sydney Test after ending his 18-year association with Slazenger because it reportedly could not come to agreement over his commercial demands.

The decision by Slazenger’s parent company, Pacific Brands, proved to be poorly timed as Clarke went on to register the highest Test score made at the ground, becoming one of just six Australians to score a triple century.

Fairfax reported Clarke’s bat, and potentially other merchandise, would be emblazoned with his initials.

He was expected to join the company’s sports ambassadors, which include New Zealand rugby league player Benji Marshall, injured fast bowler Mitchell Johnson, boxing champion Daniel Geale, netballer Laura Geitz and women’s footballer Kyah Simon.