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Lara Bingle and cricketer Michael Clarke - Source: Getty Images -
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Has Michael Clarke's engagement to Lara Bingle bitten the dust?
A report from Sydney's Daily Telegraph says the Australian cricketer and his model fiance are "negotiating how to break off the engagement."
The couple has been in the spotlight since a naked photo of Bingle was leaked to the media. The photograph, snapped four years ago when she was having an affair with married Aussie Rules footballer Brendon Fevola, prompted Bingle to start legal proceedings against her ex-lover.
Clarke reportedly made a furious phonecall to Bingle from New Zealand, after learning about a tell-all interview she had sold to a women's magazine. His subsequent sudden decision to rush to Sydney from his team's tour infuriated cricket fans, who called on him to break up with Bingle.
The Daily Telegraph reports Bingle has since been seen without her engagement ring and has spent a number of nights away from the couple's home.
Already the Australian Twenty20 skipper, Clarke has been pre-ordained as Ricky Ponting's successor as Test captain - an honour regarded as the second most important job in Australia after the Prime Minister.
It is not yet known if Clarke plans to return to New Zealand to see out the rest of the tour.
