Cricket greats Mark Waugh and Ian Smith were left scratching their heads at a lengthy delay not long after play started at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Day three of the Boxing Day Test was barely 25 minutes old when Pakistan batter Aamir Jamal was hit on the back of the shoulder by an Aussie short ball.
Once the Pat Cummins over finished a drink was run out to Pakistan batter Mohammad Rizwan, and then a medico ran on to see to Jamal.
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Play was stopped for several minutes, leaving Kiwi great Smith bemused.
"I don't quite know why we would be bringing drinks out, we've only been going 25 minutes," Smith said on Fox Cricket.
"We've got three attending to the Pakistan batsmen, now we've got Australians coming out with a drink as well.
"We've been going for 25 minutes – 25,000 people have sat outside wondering why we're not playing anyway, with a little bit of drizzle around."
The start to day three was delayed by 15 minutes due to light rain around Melbourne.
The match had lost 12 overs on day two, while day one was halted for almost a third of the allotted time due to wet weather.
Australian legend Waugh could hardly believe the umpires allowed such a break in play on Thursday.
"This is where the umpire's got to say 'no, hang on' – now (Jamal is) going to be worrying about his back," Waugh said.
"That's just part of batting, copping one on the back or shoulder. What can the physio possibly do for him?
"It's part of the game. He's getting a little massage now.
"We talk about over rate and value for money… what did he do just then, the physio?
"It's ridiculous. You don't stop the game for a ball hitting the back."
Jamal finished the innings on 33 not out as Pakistan was bowled out for 264 inside the first session.
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