Aussie team masseur fills in as 12th man
Hopefully Mitchell Starc's injured ankle didn't require a massage, because it was the team masseur who replaced him in the field.
In bizarre scenes on day one of the inaugural day-night Test at the Adelaide Oval, Grant Baldwin, who is the Australian team masseur and logistics assistant, was summoned by Steve Smith after Starc was forced off the field.
Grant Baldwin is the team masseur and logistics coordinator, currently fielding in the #DayNightTest! #AUSvNZ pic.twitter.com/eZiLldfW3D
— cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) November 27, 2015
The Aussies had a number of allocated sub fieldsmen on hand after 12th man James Pattinson flew to Western Australia for Victoria's Sheffield Shield match, so why not use them?
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Well as it turns out, Baldwin, 28, was a talented Victorian second XI cricketer and was once registered for the AFL draft.
He hasn't played for the Victorian Seconds since 2008, but is a natural sportsman and often helps out with fielding drills at training and has fielded in tour games in South Africa and the UAE before.
He even bowled an over during a tour match in South Africa last year:
@Jesse_Hogan pic.twitter.com/LgMyQkMG5c
— Matt Cenin (@Matt_Cenin) November 27, 2015
It certainly was a memorable and historic day in Adelaide.