Australian cricket is at its lowest point in nearly 30 years, but the national team's slump has yet to hit players in the hip pocket.
Having just lost a Test to New Zealand on home soil for the first time since 1985, Michael Clarke's cricketers are nevertheless cashing in more than ever according to the Business Review Weekly magazine.
While basketball star Andrew Bogut is officially the country's top-earning sports star, banking a cool $13 million a year, the number of cricketers in the BRW's annual list have doubled from five to 10 this year.
The list, which is typically dominated by golf and soccer stars, has a strong cricket influence this time due to the influx of mega bucks from the Indian Premier League.
All-rounder Shane Watson tops the cricketers in 11th spot, pocketing a healthy $4 million, with his work for the Australian Test, one-day and Twenty20 teams topped up by a $1.8 million deal with the Rajasthan Royals.
And while Watson has become Australia's most indispensable cricketer due to his reliability as an opening batsman and strike bowler, he is far from alone when it comes to a wealthy generation of players to sport the baggy green.
Skipper Clarke and his predecessor Ricky Ponting are equal 16th on the rich list, each earning $3.5 million a year despite neither playing in the IPL.
Bogut, the 2005 NBA number one draft pick, becomes the first basketballer to top the list thanks to his massive deal with the Milwaukee Bucks.
That was enough to push him past last year's top earner, Formula One driver Mark Webber, who fell to third despite another strong season in which he finished third overall behind Red Bull team-mate Sebastian Vettel with one grand prix victory.
Motorsports dominated the top five, with Webber ($9 million) pipped by MotoGP world champion Casey Stoner ($9.5 million) for second place while motocross star Chad Reed finished the year with $8.5 million, ranking him fourth.
Cadel Evans elevated himself into sporting folklore with a historic Tour de France victory and he also broke into the top five with $5 million in earnings, while another success story, Sam Stosur, retained her place in the top 50.
The tennis star had another excellent season in which she enjoyed her breakthrough grand slam victory at the US Open, but she is not the only female to feature, with four-time surfing world champion Stephanie Gilmore also cracking the list.
Soccer stars still featured heavily, with Tim Cahill earning $4.5 million to rank ninth - the highest of the nine soccer players in the top 50, while there were seven golfers, down from 13 last year.
Lleyton Hewitt suffered the biggest slide from 2010, earning just $160,000 in prize money compared to $2.1 million last year to drop off the list.
AAP
Tags: cricket, sport, motor-sports, english-premier, soccer, tennis, cycling, australia First posted December 14, 2011 15:28:52
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