Melbourne: Michael Clarke has replaced his skipper Ricky Ponting as the highest paid cricketer in the Australian team according to an estimate, which puts his salary at $1.01 million.

The calculations are based on 12 months of estimated earnings from December 1, 2007. Last year, Ponting had emerged as the highest paid cricketer. But it was only Clarke’s workload that steered him ahead of Ponting, who is closely chasing him at $992,280 for the year.

Clarke featured in 36 out of 37 games Australia played. Only Mike Hussey played all the games, and $329,970 in match fees saw his pay day get past Brett Lee, a man believed to be No. 2 but not so due to less number of matches.

According to a report, base salaries of the top 25 contracted Australian cricketers start at $160,000 and end with Ponting at a sum believed to be $800,000.

“The base salaries drop at intervals of approximately $50,000 according to rankings, and men who play in all forms occupy the top tier,” it said.

According to the report, top Aussie batsmen pocket somewhere between $600 and $700 a run. Because of his workload, Hussey represents best value, costing CA only $619 for every run. (PTI)