Border says Clarke's field setting in second Test 'against spirit of cricket'

Former Australia cricket team captain Allan Border has said that current skipper Michael Clarke's field setting against Pakistan in the second Test going on at Abu Dhabi is against the spirit of cricket.

Clarke had used a radical semicircle formation after lunch with seven fielders in front of the batsman in a desperate attempt to break the Abu Dhabi deadlock against Pakistan.

However the stationing of fielders directly behind the bowler's arm, which Pakistan batsmen found 'distracting', was seen as below the belt by Border, News.com.au reported.

Border said that where Mitchell Johnson is there behind the bowler's arm, he doesn't think it's in the spirit of the game. He said that that's the way he would see that.

He added that when Johnson moves to the mid-on side of straight, he is a bit more relaxed about that, but when he's right behind the bowler's arm, he doesn't know.

Clark claimed that he was simply seeking to turn off the tap as runs leaked on a productive opening day for Pakistan, which was 2-304 at stumps with Younis Khan undefeated on 111 and Azhar Ali on 101.

Clarke, who had employed Mitchell Johnson behind Peter Siddle's bowling arm, said that it seemed that was where the ball was going at the time so he tried a fielder there.

The skipper churned eight bowlers including himself in the first 60 overs on Thursday while Younis Khan and Azhar starred in cricket's version of the never-ending story.

Australia compiled its tour misery with sloppy catching and two bungled reviews, hoping cameras would do the job its bowlers couldn't. The most costly error came when Ali 34 was grassed 34 by Steve Smith at short leg off luckless off-spinner Nathan Lyon.

Another unforgiving day in the field looms unless Peter Siddle (0-39), recalled Mitchell Starc (0-37) and Maxwell (0-36) could impact in support of Johnson (1-50) and Nathan Lyon (1-86), the report added.