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Brisbane - Michael Clarke may be laid up in bed after surgery on his troublesome hamstring, but the Australian captain could not help directing his team-mates on social media as they toiled on day one of the second Test against India on Wednesday.
Steven Smith is leading the team for the rest of the series but Clarke unleashed a flurry of posts on Twitter to remind the world he was still very much keeping tabs on proceedings.
"Vijay has left the ball really well in Adelaide and so far in this Test. Think we need to make him play a little more early in his innings," Clarke tweeted as the India opener cruised toward a century before being caught behind for 144 off Nathan Lyon.
Clarke was also mindful of first-Test hero Lyon's performance on a sweltering day at the Gabba.
"I like seeing Lyon over the wicket. Enough spin but more importantly very good bounce," he tweeted of the 26-year-old, who took 12 wickets in Adelaide to seal victory for Australia.
Friend and former team-mate Shane Warne, himself a prolific tweeter, noted Clarke's live tweeting.
"Raise the bat from that hospital bed buddy, that's your 50th tweet of the day already !!! Bored much ??? Hahaha....."
Clarke responded: "hahaha.. I love making big 100s so stay tuned."
Clarke earlier tweeted that his surgery went "really well".
The 33-year-old said after the victory in Adelaide that his degenerative back condition, which contributes to his frequent hamstring injuries, might force him to retire.
He was clearly more upbeat about his chances of playing again on Wednesday, as was team physiotherapist Alex Kountouris who said the aim was to have Clarke back in action for the Cricket World Cup early next year.
"Speaking to the surgeon, everything went really well and he was confident Michael was going to make a good recovery," he told a news conference in Brisbane.
"Our aim is for him to take part in the World Cup so that'll be the goal. He's had surgery and will do rehab with that intent but we'll only know that when we know how he's recovering."
