Bizarre field placings liven up the action
Clarke gets creative on day one
Above image courtesy of Fox Sports
While the play meandered at times on day one of the second Test in Abu Dhabi, the Australians did their best to keep things entertaining.
In the past we’ve seen captains such as Steve Waugh and Greg Chappell use a nine-man slips cordon, but Michael Clarke's creative field settings arguably went a step beyond that on Thursday.
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When pace bowler Peter Siddle set off to bowl in the post-lunch session, he had Mitchell Johnson standing right beside him in a direct line behind the umpire.
Siddle also had three short midwickets and two short covers in a lifeless pitch.
The only slip fielder for Siddle was Clarke himself at third slip, with no gully.
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Above image courtesy of Fox Sports
Clearly it was a good toss to win for Pakistan.
David Warner caught up with a member of the crowd during the lunch break on day one: http://t.co/wJSQxmkbDH #PAKvAUS pic.twitter.com/jWvn6wJxHA
— cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) October 30, 2014
Elsewhere, Steve Smith and David Warner kept themselves busy chasing a stray cat, as the Australians battled against a lifeless pitch and an in-form Pakistan batting order.
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Earlier, allrounder Glenn Maxwell and paceman Mitchell Starc were called into the XI to replace Alex Doolan and Steve O'Keefe.