"Michael Clarke’s funky field setting ‘against spirit of cricket' ": Allan Border

[Runner Up]

"Michael Clarke’s funky field setting ‘against spirit of cricket' ": Allan Border

MICHAEL Clarke may have taken his funky field settings too far, with a former Australian captain suggesting some of the positions seen during the second Test against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi were against the spirit of cricket.

Clarke is known for his adventurous captaincy but even seasoned observers were left stunned by some of the obscure field placings used by the Aussie skipper.

Most controversially, at one stage Clarke instructed a fielder – Mitchell Johnson – to stand directly behind the bowlers arm and in the batsman’s eyesight.

Mitchell Johnson can be seen fielding directly behind Peter Siddle.

The first time the tactic was used Pakistan batsman Azhar Ali stopped play and appeared to complain about the bizarre move, before regathering his composure and batting on.

It was this field setting that prompted legendary former Test captain Allan Border to suggest Clarke was pushing the boundaries of what’s acceptable in cricket.

“I don’t think it’s in the spirit of the game,” Border said on Fox Sports.

“That’s the way I’d see that.

“When he (Johnson) moves to the mid-on side of straight, I’m a bit more relaxed about that. When he’s right behind the bowler’s arm, I don’t know.”



At one stage Clarke employed what some on social media were labelling a ‘reverse umbrella’ field, which saw no less than five fielders standing in close in front of the bat, creating a ring stretching from short cover to short mid-wicket.

The Aussie captain changed his field settings with such regularity that even the television commentators were struggling to keep up.

His bowling changes were no less frequent, with Clarke using eight Australian bowlers throughout day one in Abu Dhabi, including himself.

On several occasions a bowler sent down just one over before being rotated out of the attack.

SOURCE

 

[Convict]

Yeah I have to agree with Border.

 

[KarachiKing]

didn't watch a ball but these seem like some desperate tactics

 

[khalil1986]

Goes over the top, besides putting batsman off there was simply no purpose of Mitch fielding where he was.

 

[srh]

to defeat this behemoth, Clarke has to use every trick in the book

 

[The intelligent Supporter]

didn't watch a ball but these seem like some desperate tactics

You missed out on a glorious day

May I ask ..why you could not watch it..If you dont mind?

 

[Fastandfurious]

Clarke's missing Ryan Harris.

 

[KarachiKing]

You missed out on a glorious day

May I ask ..why you could not watch it..If you dont mind?

im in the US right now and the timings are crazy with the match starting at midnight. watched the first sessions of each day in the previous match and will prolly do same from tomorrow

but to be honest, for this one I messed up the dates in my head and thought the match was starting tomorrow. only when I saw a status on fbook this morning abt YK scoring a century was I like, 'Wait.......'

 

[cricketjoshila]

Aussies dont have the attack to do well on Asian pitches.Plus YK is in very good form.Bechara Clarke!

 

[Bullet Drive]

Didn't like it one bit.

Also, Clarke tells Smith to zip it? What happened

 

[Alchemy]

I dont see what clarke did wrong in this. It was good creative captaincy. I watched almost the whole day today. When clarke brought this fielding it choked Azhar Ali massively. That guy lost it for a while but then adjusted well. Needless complaining by border.

 

[EarthBoltX]

Didn't like it one bit.

Also, Clarke tells Smith to zip it? What happened

Well, apparently, "Australian cricketer Steve Smith was on the receiving end of a telling off from Michael Clarke, with the skipper clearly unhappy with Smith's friendly chat with Pakistan's Azhar Ali"

 

[Alchemy]

Well, apparently, "Australian cricketer Steve Smith was on the receiving end of a telling off from Michael Clarke, with the skipper clearly unhappy with Smith's friendly chat with Pakistan's Azhar Ali"

Can you elaborate on what happened?

 

[dhump]

I dont see anything wrong in this, spirit of cricket is overrated anyways. If you are in the ground you are out there to win the match and he didnt break any rules while doing that.

I love these tries by Clark and others should follow and try everything while staying within the rules to cricket to get Batsman out or score runs.

 

[Alchemy]

I dont see anything wrong in this, spirit of cricket is overrated anyways. If you are in the ground you are out there to win the match and he didnt break any rules while doing that.

I love these tries by Clark and others should follow and try everything while staying within the rules to cricket to get Batsman out or score runs.

Spot on. If spirit of cricket is being meek and giving up after the toss and not trying anything then hell with that spirit of cricket.

 

[Saurav]

I dont see anything wrong in this, spirit of cricket is overrated anyways. If you are in the ground you are out there to win the match and he didnt break any rules while doing that.

I love these tries by Clark and others should follow and try everything while staying within the rules to cricket to get Batsman out or score runs.

totally agree

 

[Thivagar]

I don't see anything wrong with it. Spirit of cricket is nonsense.

 

[Pete Rose]

Well, apparently, "Australian cricketer Steve Smith was on the receiving end of a telling off from Michael Clarke, with the skipper clearly unhappy with Smith's friendly chat with Pakistan's Azhar Ali"

Younis got a rocket from inzi on our last test tour to India with inzi as captain, for being too chatty with sehwag

 

[adarsh_bang]

Even i want to know why Clarke was unhappy with Smith.
Some on social media said he was reprimanding Smith for sledging, some said he didn't like Smith being too friendly with Azhar.
What was the case?

 

[Mo_Ahmed84]

No surpise. It was bad enough with the catch in the ODI with the fielder moving position. This is a new low in my opinion.

 

[EarthBoltX]

Can you elaborate on what happened?

I actually have no clue, no, I overslept that incident. All I found was that quote from several articles on Australian media.

 

[OZGOD]

didn't watch a ball but these seem like some desperate tactics

Same but I agree with Border too. If they are in his line of vision that's not cricket.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Silly Point]

im in the US right now and the timings are crazy with the match starting at midnight. watched the first sessions of each day in the previous match and will prolly do same from tomorrow

but to be honest, for this one I messed up the dates in my head and thought the match was starting tomorrow. only when I saw a status on fbook this morning abt YK scoring a century was I like, 'Wait.......'

You're in Arizona or Colorado or something? I was in Cali during the first test and the matches started at 11pm so watched a couple of hours on the weekdays before going to sleep. I'm back in Houston and the match started at 1am last night. No chance now, except I will wake up early in the morning on day 4 and/or 5 if things get interesting.

 

[90MPH]

I doubt it was for sledging. He was being too chatty and friendly with Azhar.

 

[the Great Khan]

wait haven't the ICC legislated on this yet? oh wait Misbah didn't do it...

 

[The intelligent Supporter]

im in the US right now and the timings are crazy with the match starting at midnight. watched the first sessions of each day in the previous match and will prolly do same from tomorrow

but to be honest, for this one I messed up the dates in my head and thought the match was starting tomorrow. only when I saw a status on fbook this morning abt YK scoring a century was I like, 'Wait.......'

oh i see

 

[mr-k]

Need smith clarke video

 

[Stewie]

I actually always believed it was against the rules to position a fielder in front of the sight screen. Wow... guess after nearly 30 years of closely following he game, there is still a lot I dont know.

If its permissible within the laws of the game, I dont see any problem in doing so. I am sure Clarke wanted to spare only one guy to cover for the straight drives that Azhar and Younus both played so well. Just didnt know it was NOT against the laws of the game.

There are a number of areas where the laws and the spirit dont see eye to eye.. like everything else in life.

 

[FreeBird]

The way Australians play their cricket, Clarke would have praised and given a tap at his back if Smith had sledged Azhar.

 

[the Great Khan]

we should position Irfan in there in a ODI next time..

 

[Blistering Barnacle]

Even i want to know why Clarke was unhappy with Smith.
Some on social media said he was reprimanding Smith for sledging, some said he didn't like Smith being too friendly with Azhar.
What was the case?

Dean Jones said in the commentary at the time that Clarke shouted to Smith that Azhar's mates are sitting up there (the players' area). In other words, you're not his mate so stop being friendly. That was how I interpret it based on what Jones said. Initially I had thought Clarke was telling him not to sledge or something, but why would he do that, right?

 

[DrSchultz]

These ICC people write Playing Conditions on the spot of whatever decisions Big3 captains make!
#jk

 

[Alchemy]

Dean Jones said in the commentary at the time that Clarke shouted to Smith that Azhar's mates are sitting up there (the players' area). In other words, you're not his mate so stop being friendly. That was how I interpret it based on what Jones said. Initially I had thought Clarke was telling him not to sledge or something, but why would he do that, right?

LOL. Seems like Australia also plays with a siege mentality. Not different from Pakistan i guess.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

we should position Irfan in there in a ODI next time..

haha lol good reply

 

[adarsh_bang]

Dean Jones said in the commentary at the time that Clarke shouted to Smith that Azhar's mates are sitting up there (the players' area). In other words, you're not his mate so stop being friendly. That was how I interpret it based on what Jones said. Initially I had thought Clarke was telling him not to sledge or something, but why would he do that, right?

Hahah.. Funny, but you can understand Clarke's restlessness. Don't blame him.

 

[Gollum]

Against the rules of cricket, no. Against the spirit of cricket as a gentleman's game, yes.

 

[srh]

we should position Irfan in there in a ODI next time..

ICC will change the rules to disallow it

 

[Arsal_AK]

I don't see anything wrong with it.

There is no law stating that you can't have a field like that so, what's the problem??

 

[Sherlock]

f it's in the rules then he can do it. Mind you if a player from the team I support was out because of that specific fielder, I'd be upset.

 

[BlackThunder]

Good for Clarke for being inventive and creating a field placement where many thought was against the rules. I would love for other captains to do the same on dead pitches, it will create an interesting dynamic. Can you imagine if captains had done it to tendu? That would have been a sight to see.

 

[Gigii]

Border is an old school cricketer. Modern cricket has no real "spirit of cricket", just the rules. Which is how it should be IMO.

The trouble is that I doubt every FC cricketer, let alone international cricketer knows all the rules. So the spirit of cricket is used as a buffer- something controversial happens, let's evoke spirit of cricket to sort it out.

 

[OZGOD]

im in the US right now and the timings are crazy with the match starting at midnight. watched the first sessions of each day in the previous match and will prolly do same from tomorrow

but to be honest, for this one I messed up the dates in my head and thought the match was starting tomorrow. only when I saw a status on fbook this morning abt YK scoring a century was I like, 'Wait.......'

Yes it sucks for me too here in the East Coast. Match starts at 2am and finishes like 10am.

 

[Zaz]

Having a fielder directly behind/aside the bowler is off putting and not on tbh

 

[Bilal7]

I dont see what clarke did wrong in this. It was good creative captaincy. I watched almost the whole day today. When clarke brought this fielding it choked Azhar Ali massively. That guy lost it for a while but then adjusted well. Needless complaining by border.

It was poor captaincy. His team came across as desperate and out of ideas and all this chopping and changing didn't let his bowlers settle into a rhythm.

Not one expert or former cricketer has condoned his captaincy today.

Can you elaborate on what happened?

Smith was talking to Azhar about being friends or something like that but then Clarke said, and I quote:

"His friends are upstairs not here", then he told Smith to zip it.

 

[as-95]

Typical Aussies. Can't take losing, and reall hope Pak demolish them with an innings defeat in final test. Known for cheating and not playing by te rules despite feeling hard done by when someone else crosses similar boundaries. Imagine the outcry if Pak fielders did this.

 

[Random Aussie]

Yeah I have to agree with Border.

Same. There's a line and that's crossing it.

 

[KarachiKing]

Typical Aussies. Can't take losing, and reall hope Pak demolish them with an innings defeat in final test. Known for cheating and not playing by te rules despite feeling hard done by when someone else crosses similar boundaries. Imagine the outcry if Pak fielders did this.

lolwtf



honestly some 'fans'!

 

[Blistering Barnacle]

I thought it was a pretty good field setting for Azhar, because he was scoring in those areas playing straight.

 

[BlackThunder]

It was poor captaincy. His team came across as desperate and out of ideas and all this chopping and changing didn't let his bowlers settle into a rhythm.

Not one expert or former cricketer has condoned his captaincy today.



Smith was talking to Azhar about being friends or something like that but then Clarke said, and I quote:

"His friends are upstairs not here", then he told Smith to zip it.

Hardly a big deal, it quite something seeing PakistanI's whine about the Aussies despite being on top literary from ball one of the series. The win against opponents who play hard like the Aussies and put it all out their are that much more cherishable yet the only thing you see from Pakistan fans is complaning about Australia. Did you guys really expected the Aussies to roll over and accept their faith? Maybe since you guys haven't won in so long you have forgotten how to enjoy a victory rather than cry about opponents tactics.

 

[OZGOD]

It was poor captaincy. His team came across as desperate and out of ideas and all this chopping and changing didn't let his bowlers settle into a rhythm.

Well the team was out of ideas and desperate. In these situations you can't win. If he had been static and not changed anything he would have been criticised for letting the game drift and letting the batsmen settle. If he moves the field around he gets criticised for being hyperactive. When you're doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result that tends to be the definition of insanity.

I don't mind him changing things. At least he was trying something. I wouldn't have put the fielder right behind the bowler's arm though. Mainly because there's no point in doing so. At least MJ wasn't moving at the time of delivery.

Azhar said he'd never seen the straight-hit fielding position used.

"I didn't have an idea that you could have one behind the bowler," he said.

"So I was a little distracted but the umpire told me if he doesn't move then there is no problem.

"He wasn't moving so it was fine."

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket...-is-running-out-of-ideas-20141030-11emg0.html

 

[Bilal7]

Hardly a big deal, it quite something seeing PakistanI's whine about the Aussies despite being on top literary from ball one of the series. The win against opponents who play hard like the Aussies and put it all out their are that much more cherishable yet the only thing you see from Pakistan fans is complaning about Australia. Did you guys really expected the Aussies to roll over and accept their faith? Maybe since you guys haven't won in so long you have forgotten how to enjoy a victory rather than cry about opponents tactics.

The hell is wrong with you? I'm not crying about anything, I don't think this is an issue at all. I was saying that Clarke's captaincy was poor. Maybe before taking pot-shots at people, you ought to brush up your comprehension skills.

Well the team was out of ideas and desperate. In these situations you can't win. If he had been static and not changed anything he would have been criticised for letting the game drift and letting the batsmen settle. If he moves the field around he gets criticised for being hyperactive. When you're doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result that tends to be the definition of insanity.

I don't mind him changing things. At least he was trying something. I wouldn't have put the fielder right behind the bowler's arm though. Mainly because there's no point in doing so. At least MJ wasn't moving at the time of delivery.

Waiting for the batsmen to make mistakes does work more often than not on pitches like this. I really didn't care about the MJ thing as a Pakistani, it was a wasted field position better used elsewhere in my opinion.

 

[RagingJ]

Being creative and trying to win...I like that.

 

[Aman]

There's being creative and then there's desperation, what Clarke did yesterday with his field placings falls into the latter.

 

[Convict]

The hell is wrong with you? I'm not crying about anything, I don't think this is an issue at all. I was saying that Clarke's captaincy was poor. Maybe before taking pot-shots at people, you ought to brush up your comprehension skills.



Waiting for the batsmen to make mistakes does work more often than not on pitches like this. I really didn't care about the MJ thing as a Pakistani, it was a wasted field position better used elsewhere in my opinion.

Clarke has a realistic view of his bowlers 'abilities'

 

[Random Aussie]

I thought it was a pretty good field setting for Azhar, because he was scoring in those areas playing straight.

I would have preferred to see a better tactic than bowl half volleys and put a man straight.

 

[Convict]

I'd have liked a long stop given the way Haddin was keeping

 

[Aman]

I'd have liked a long stop given the way Haddin was keeping

Haddin over Watling, right?

 

[hussain.r97]

Found this here http://www.foxsports.com.au/cricket...-v-pakistan-test/story-fn2mcu3x-1227107944647

“What’s happened here is Steve Smith was just having a few little talks to Azhar and having a bit of a yarn,” commentator and former Australian Test player Dean Jones explained.

“And you’ll say it’s nice to have friends, but Michael Clarke’s just yelled out, ‘His friends are upstairs, not down here’.

“So he told him to zip it and he’s just copped a rocket from the captain. Not a nice feeling.”

 

[OZGOD]

Waiting for the batsmen to make mistakes does work more often than not on pitches like this. I really didn't care about the MJ thing as a Pakistani, it was a wasted field position better used elsewhere in my opinion.

When your bowlers aren't taking wickets you're going to be criticised as a captain either way. Either you're moving your field around too much and changing your bowlers too much or you're not doing it enough. It's always easy to be critical in hindsight. Clarke has been successful more often than not by not letting the game drift. He wasn't on this occasion. I agree with the MJ position though it was wasted. But end of day Clarke was trying things and couldn't manufacture a wicket.

 

[Convict]

Haddin over Watling, right?

Take the WA boy over Watling.

Like you do in the One Dayers

Did you read the Australian thread about Haddin, Lyon and Siddle? Pretty funny stuff.

 

[yadunoe]

Goes over the top, besides putting batsman off there was simply no purpose of Mitch fielding where he was.

thats fair play in my opinion and if he is allowed to do it in the laws of the game then he should do it , winning is all that matters .

 

[ParwazHaiJunoon]

I dont see what clarke did wrong in this. It was good creative captaincy. I watched almost the whole day today. When clarke brought this fielding it choked Azhar Ali massively. That guy lost it for a while but then adjusted well. Needless complaining by border.

I dont see anything wrong in this, spirit of cricket is overrated anyways. If you are in the ground you are out there to win the match and he didnt break any rules while doing that.

I love these tries by Clark and others should follow and try everything while staying within the rules to cricket to get Batsman out or score runs.

Spot on. If spirit of cricket is being meek and giving up after the toss and not trying anything then hell with that spirit of cricket.

totally agree

I don't see anything wrong with it. Spirit of cricket is nonsense.

I don't see anything wrong with it.

There is no law stating that you can't have a field like that so, what's the problem??

Good for Clarke for being inventive and creating a field placement where many thought was against the rules. I would love for other captains to do the same on dead pitches, it will create an interesting dynamic. Can you imagine if captains had done it to tendu? That would have been a sight to see.

Border is an old school cricketer. Modern cricket has no real "spirit of cricket", just the rules. Which is how it should be IMO.

The trouble is that I doubt every FC cricketer, let alone international cricketer knows all the rules. So the spirit of cricket is used as a buffer- something controversial happens, let's evoke spirit of cricket to sort it out.

I thought it was a pretty good field setting for Azhar, because he was scoring in those areas playing straight.

Being creative and trying to win...I like that.

thats fair play in my opinion and if he is allowed to do it in the laws of the game then he should do it , winning is all that matters .

Australians sport their unethical actions by saying that we play "Hard but Fair" , "within Rules of Game" & "spirit of game". They present themselves as more law abiding than others.
This is the very reason they got lengthy bans after Newlands Scandal because if you are more law abiding, you will get stricter punishment than others if proven guilty.

This business of elite honesty - and Langer's elite mateship and elite humility - this is all elite **. So is the Players' Pact. And the "hard but fair" act. It's classic corporate-speak - high-sounding words put together to sound and look pretty but that end up meaning nothing.

We're not talking about airplane seats where even economy can now be premium. Honesty is honesty. You either are or you aren't. There is no elite level to which you and I are not welcome and only Australian cricketers are. The truth is, and if it is not, then it is a lie; no number of demagogue leaders, politicians or cricket captains are going to change this fact (not opinion). In today's world, more and more people might not be accepting the truth, but that says something about a changing people and society, not the truth.

All that these words do is maintain the pretence that Australian cricketers operate - or should operate - on a higher moral plane than non-Australian cricketers; that the Australian line is the line, never mind that nobody's ever been told where that line is. It is what has got them into this mess in the first place.

It is what the extreme punishments to Steven Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft were so much about. The rest of the cricket world was made to look like a collective of tree-hugging liberal halfwits for having - fairly maturely, actually - come to terms with what is an on-field code violation and not a sign of moral decay. Sides tampered with the ball, sometimes they got caught and were punished and yes, sometimes they got away with it. That's all life.

Cricket, though, reactionary and conservative cricket, fell for it, responding by increasing the seriousness and stigma of tampering as an offence. Instead of doubling down, cooling the atmosphere, and insisting that tampering wasn't an existential threat to the game, it went the other way, aspiring to this elite Australian way.

It was a depressing reminder of the way cricket is still unable to drag itself out of the streak of puritanism that has marked its operations for so long, where it believes it is not just a morally superior game but that it produces morally superior humans. That's the subtext of the Spirit of Cricket, which, lately Australia seem to have clung to tighter than others. But here's a truth bomb for all of us: cricket isn't morally superior to anything. If it ever was, maybe it was nearly two centuries ago. It's a great sport, no doubt, but that is all it is - a sport. If it expanded globally in reality, rather than just in an ICC mission paper, it may well loosen up and understand this.


What Langer's words and the set of associated ideas among which they float - about the exceptionalism of Australian cricketers - do is set Australia up, at some point down the line, for another fall and greater unpopularity. Look at the sniggering already - magnificently played, by the way, Graeme Smith. Imagine now the next time one of them stuffs up, delivers a nasty sledge, or bullies an umpire, or tampers, or surreptitiously tips over a bail, or claims a dropped catch, or doesn't walk when he's out.

Of course it'll happen. They may be Australian cricketers but - and here's the big reveal - they are also human. They are humans like the rest of the cricketers they play with and against, ones who also do all of these things occasionally, ones they used to always beat and now ones they don't beat so often. They are humans like the rest of us who watch them, envy them, criticise them and worship them; humans who are fallible; humans who are striving for some regular honesty, sometimes succeeding but other times failing.

To this eye, and perhaps many others, all Australian cricket should stand for is Australian cricket, because that has always been more than enough. The way their openers and one-downs come at you, the way they don't stop producing super-fast fast bowlers, the way their keepers yap and catch, the way their slips stand chewing gum like they're a street gang, the way they think leggies are the normal ones and offies the ones to be suspicious of, the way their grounds can feel simultaneously so big and so small, and the way no game is over for them until the very last of them has physically sat on the bus and left the stadium. It has never needed any buzzwords or catchphrases beyond that.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/...alk-about-the-notion-of-elite-honesty-1164258