Cricket legend Michael Clarke opens up on withdrawal from SAS Australia

Cricket legend Michael Clarke has spoken publicly about suggestions he has walked away from a rich reality TV contract.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 05: Michael Clarke attends the Hublot Love Summer Event on December 05, 2019 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Wendell Teodoro/Getty Images)

Australian cricket legend Michael Clarke has confirmed he has pulled out of the next season of SAS Australia just weeks before filming is set to begin.

On Friday, the 40-year-old explained ongoing back pain meant he had little choice but to withdraw from the reality TV show, which is known for its gruelling challenges.

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News Corp Australia first reported Clarke pulled out at the last minute after first asking for an appearance fee rumoured to have been around $750,000 to be involved in the series.

Speaking on Sky Sports Radio’s Big Sports Breakfast, co-host Gerard Middleton said when Clarke “walked into the office and last week, you looked like you were 84”.

Middleton said the 40-year-old was taking steps one at a time in the office, with Clarke barefoot as he couldn’t put shoes on.

Clarke, who struggled with chronic back issues throughout his cricket career, revealed it was preparatory training for the show that forced him to pull out.

“I did sign up to do it Middo,” Clarke began. “Unfortunately I slipped a disc in my back doing the training.

A back injury forced Michael Clarke to pull out of SAS. (AAP Image/Dave Hunt)

“You get a four-week program where you got to do some stuff in preparation for the show and unfortunately I did my back. I let the guys know a couple of weeks ago that I’d done my disc and then it’s just been physio every day.

“But unfortunately filming is very near. So my back hasn’t improved anywhere near enough.

“Unfortunately I’ve had to pull out which is disappointing but let’s never say never.

“I’ve never been a fan of reality TV. This is probably the one show I thought, there are certainly some out of the comfort zone stuff that I wanted to test myself and I was looking forward to it.

“But it’s a shame mate. My back is my back and it has been my whole career and the last thing I wanted was to wind up in a hospital bed needing surgery. So plenty of physio treatment for now.”

Middleton then suggested co-host and NRL great Laurie Daley could take Clarke’s spot on the show.

“Clarke out, Daley in, is that how it works?” he said.

Clarke was all for it but Daley quickly tried to move on.

The Canberra Raiders legend pointed to a challenge earlier in the week where Sam Burgess spent over an hour in a tunnel that narrowed the further he went through it.

“If that was me, I would have been freaking out because I do suffer from claustrophobia,” he said.

Clarke’s back is so bad he can barely put on his own shoes. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

“I was just uncomfortable watching it on the lounge and I was twitching and say ‘I couldn’t do it’, but he was able to control his mind, stay calm and wiggle himself out of there. I was just like ‘wow, that’s mentally strong to do that because you’re facing fears and being put into situations you’re not usually confronted with.”

Clarke said it was important to him to be at full fitness before embarking on an intense experience like SAS.

“You want to go in there as healthy as you can because you’re doing stuff that’s so far outside your comfort zone physically and mentally,” he said.

“I sort of felt obviously having my back issues all through my career, at least if I was fit and healthy, and that’s why the training was so important for me.

“If I was fit and healthy, I’d give myself every chance but unfortunately, slipping a disc in my back, I’m probably four to six weeks of physio every day to be back putting shoes and socks on let alone carrying a 20kg backpack up a hill on a 15kg jog.”

The filming for the third season of SAS was meant to begin in early October.

Clarke said “because it wasn’t much time away from work and from my family, my daughter, I was willing to give it a crack”.