Clarke ducks into trouble up the order MICHAEL Clarke's move up the order to add stability has failed in the worst possible way, with the skipper scoring a golden duck and squandering the best opening partnership of the tour. His dismissal sparked a crisis of confidence after openers Ed Cowan (86) and Dave Warner (71) had made the most of batting after the toss was won. Just when it seemed the frail shack of Australian cricket had taken the first steps towards reconstruction, two balls put it right back to square one, and two sessions had the wind blowing loose timbers from its walls and roof. Australia's exposed team was left shivering at the end of the second day with only 7-273 to protect it from another Test loss, despite half centuries from Cowan, Warner and the recalled Steve Smith (58 not out). The openers had provided Clarke the best platform he has had all series, allowing him to enter at 1-139 where on every other occasion he has come in with three down and less runs on the board. Possibly giddy with excitement at the strong beginning, the right-hander danced down the wicket first ball to Ravi Jadeja. Misjudging length and turn, he perished well short of safe haven, MS Dhoni completing the stumping. What had seemed a less than ominous Ides of March took a nasty turn in the space of two balls and had more malevolence in store. In the following sessions Australia lost 7-112. Clarke's removal changed the tone of the game, the Australians clenching, almost freezing, at the thought of another first innings squandered. To that point the openers had been scoring with judicious freedom, but Phil Hughes (2) and Cowan stood petrified for the next 25 balls, unable to make any sort of notch on the scoreboard. Hughes took 20 balls to score and then 37 to compile two runs before returning to the dressing room. He has scored 6, 0, 19, 0 previous to this and will almost certainly sit out the next match. What this tour has done to his Ashes prospects remains to be seen. Brad Haddin contributed a free-flowing 21, but was gone to a loose shot against Ishant Sharma followed by Moises Henriques (0) two balls later. Smith got to play his sixth Test here because of the homework scandal and made the most of it by scoring his third 50 and demonstrating an entertaining creativity against spin. Before this match, Warner admitted he and Cowan had two more chances to score runs or face the possibility of missing the plane to England and beyond. Both have demonstrated individual resolve at different parts of this tour but yesterday they achieved a unity of purpose glimpsed rarely in their 26 innings together. The pair passed 100 for just the third time, both making the most of the glassy conditions on offer after the toss was won. Warner moved to his 50 before the first break and Cowan after it, dancing down the wicket to Jadeja. He acknowledged it with a modest thumbs up to the dressing room. Warner went edging on to his pad for 71, but his partner kept swimming against the tide and continued to score even if it was at a reduced rate and was finally gone for a respectable 86 - his second highest Test score. Cowan said the Australian score should not be judged until both sides had batted. After the day's play, he was asked what his presentation to coach Mickey Arthur had contained. "What I said to Mickey was I want to be accountable to bat a long period of time and I put a figure on that, which is between me and Mickey," Cowan said. My plans have almost come full circle, coming over here I had it in my mind I needed to put pressure on the spinners by attacking them ... and I have come full circle in how I want to bat and that's fighting and grinding them out. If it takes a full day to get 86 or 50 it doesn't matter, my job in these conditions is to bat as long as I can and almost take the runs out of it.