The Boxing Day Test took a bizarre turn after lunch on day three when there was a delay in the action after third umpire Richard Illingworth got stuck in a lift at the MCG causing play to grind to a halt.
Australia returned to the middle at 2-6 and under plenty of pressure, yet batsman Steve Smith and David Warner were left in limbo for six minutes as the umpires scrambled to get the game back underway.
What happened to the third umpire during Boxing Day Test?
"Do you reckon cricket is the number one sport that has stoppages for the most bizarre things?" Michael Vaughan questioned in commentary for Fox Cricket as the situation unfolded.
"We’ve got a stop in play here because the third umpire is stuck in a lift."
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Both sets of players returned to the pitch for the second session of the day which Pakistan had dominated after their tail wagged at the end of their innings, before paceman Shaheen Shah Afridi jagged two quick wickets.
Usman Khawaja was removed in the first over, before Marnus Labuschagne nicked one behind with the final delivery before the break to leave the Aussies two down and with only a 54-run lead.
Yet it soon became apparent that Warner and Smith would have to wait to get their innings started when the on-field umpires Joel Wilson and Michael Gough told the sides there would be a delay as they waited for the return of Illingworth.
"You’ve got your two umpires ready to go in the middle, you’ve got your Pakistan team ready to go and the two batsmen out there are ready to play," Vaughan said.
"We’ve had an hour taken out of the game earlier because of a little bit of drizzle. Now, we’ve got everything ready to go and we’ve got a third umpire stuck in a lift.
"Clearly, the lunches were pretty good because they must have had a lot of it – they stayed downstairs for a long time."
The former England skipper wasn’t the only one baffled by the circumstances as the fourth umpire, Phillip Gillespie, was pictured racing up the stairs to take a seat in the box in Illingworth's absence.
"Do you know of any other sport where they have so many different delays for so many different things?" Vaughan continued. "It’s never just the same thing."
"It’s unique," Adam Gilchrist laughed. "The playing conditions of cricket – some say that it continues to eat into itself, but this is one that is a little out of nowhere."
"I can’t get over it," Wasim Akram added. "I’ve never seen anything like this before."
Mitch Marsh puts Aussies in control but falls short of century
When play resumed, Warner was dismissed for the final time at the MCG when he chopped onto his own stumps, while more carnage ensued when Travis Head departed for a duck to leave the Aussies four wickets down and in trouble.
However, a brilliant knock from Mitch Marsh - who fell just four runs short of a century - got his side back on track.
Marsh came to the crease at 4-16 but set about attacking the game in his customary fashion as he hit 13 boundaries in a crucial knock which changed the course of the Test.
After being dropped on 20 by Abdullah Shafique, Marsh made the most of his reprieve to swing the game back in his side's favour after Pakistan had dominated the early exchanges on day three.
"Mitchell Marsh was booed at this ground five years ago and he's now warmly applauded off," Mark Howard said on Fox Cricket as the allrounder trudged off.
"What an innings," Vaughan added.
"He's just getting runs when his team desperately needs them. Look at the situation he walked out today.
"The fall will always be talked about because he didn't get three figures, but that was a magnificent counter-attacking innings."
'The Bison' combined with Smith in a 153-run partnership to push the hosts' lead to 241 runs by the close of play with four wickets still remaining.