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Shane Watson

iamdavid

International Debutant
The figures
2003/04 Pura Cup
8 matches , 15 innings , 819 runs@58.5 , 3x100 , 3x50 , high score - 157 , 8 catches.
2 wickets@52

First Class Carear
25 matches , 43 innings , 1738 runs@45.73 , 5x100 , 10x50 , hs - 157 , 12 catches.
51 wickets@26.43 , SR - 43.2 , eco - 3.66 , best - 6/32 , 2x5wi , 1x10wm.

His batting has just gone to another level this season after the work at the academy during winter , with this recent form its just a matter of time before he's back in Australian colours once more.......the question is which form of the game he should be picked in.

Now Im of the firm beleif , and have been since I first saw him play , that Watson will make an average ODI player at best , but would be an outstanding test prospect.
His game is clearly more suited to the longer form , with the bat he is over reliant on boundaries , not the greatest when it comes to working the ball around for 1's & 2's , he needs a bit of time to play himself in at the start of an innings , cant just go out there & swing from ball 1.
Now that sort of player is never going to acheive a huge amount of success with the bat in ODI's unless they are consistently batting in the first 15 overs (ala Hayden).
However the patience & ability to kick on with the starts once set are traits of a top flight test batsman.

With the ball he is not as wayward as his ODI & FC records would suggest , its just that his bowling lacks variety.
He is quick , but not quick enough to scare them , swings the new ball away from right handers & the old ball into them (this is something Ive noticed seems to come naturally to him , its a huge advantage) & he is capable of bowling a tight line.
Its just that he is very skiddy (with his flatter trajectory) & tends to be a bit one paced & predictable with the ball , which means when batsman get their eyes in they can whack him over the top & he can go for plenty in quick time , this has already happened a couple of times in his ODI carear.

He's great in the feild , very good under the helmet at short leg & has one of the strongest arms in the country.

IMO he's a victim of the generalisation that allrounders are better suited to the shorter form of the game , despite the fact that a glance at his record , or just watching him bat , reveals that test cricket is his go.

Now that he's bowling again & making runs like there's no tomorrow the temptation must be there to slot him into the test side.
I see both sides of the coin here , he's young , enthusiastic , the sides getting old & he's making the runs , so lets get him in there now while the team is winning & we've got the positive culture happening.

But also the viewpoint of , Love , Hussey , Hussey jnr , Hodge , Lehmann are all making the runs at the same rate & have been doing so consistently for years , they deserve the chance more.

Now I realise that just ATM he isnt back to 100% pace with the ball , so chucking him in at 6 for the tests in SRL would be foolish.
But long term his potential value to the side as a middle order batsman / 3rd or 4th seamer is massive.
He would allow us to play 2 spinners & 5 bowlers in all conditions without harming the batting.
For me he's ahead of Clarke ATM in the que for test selection as he's piling em on at domestic level , his bowling , age & feilding are a bonus.

What are your thoughts?
 

age_master

Hall of Fame Member
yeah i think he will be a great test player - i think he will do alright in the shorter version of the game as well, if he gets a run with Symonds and Clarke usually sharing 10 overs (if not a few more)
 
age_master said:
yeah i think he will be a great test player - i think he will do alright in the shorter version of the game as well, if he gets a run with Symonds and Clarke usually sharing 10 overs (if not a few more)
Watson is too good a bowler to bowl 3/4 in a match. He's a 6+ man at least.

Don't forget everybody, he's ***y.
 

SquidAU

First Class Debutant
His dashing good looks aside, he is an all rounder on the improve.....hopefully his bowling willl get to where his batting is ATM...then Australia should give him a go again in the one dayers, as that has been the traditional "apprenticeship" for test hopefuls. Then see his performance, give a go in a few tests, don't expect too much from him, and hopefully he will turn out to be a Neil Harvey or Richie Benaud......
 

Mister Wright

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
iamdavid said:
But also the viewpoint of , Love , Hussey , Hussey jnr , Hodge , Lehmann are all making the runs at the same rate & have been doing so consistently for years , they deserve the chance more.
Hussey jnr only came on the scene last year, so it is a bit of a stretch to say that he has been consistent for years.

But yeah, I agree Watson is a prospect of the future. Maybe not yet, but pretty soon.
 

Armadillo

State Vice-Captain
i didnt rate watson when he was in the australian side because he bowled 2 or 3 overs and batted at eight or nine, he never got a chance to proove himself internationally except for the flash of brilliance against kenya, but its only kenya
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
As david said, that was in ODIs, and me and him agree that he'll make an average ODI player at best.
Don't judge his Test-match credentials on ODIs.
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
Nope, and it's not fair to judge that he will or won't be likely to be good\bad on ODIs.
 

Craig

World Traveller
I think at some point he has to decide whether to concenrate on his batting and let his bowling drop off or concentrate on being an all-rounder.
 

ND_fan

Cricket Spectator
Chuck him in the test side now i reckon - aus has enough great players to be able to try some1 like him cos if it doesn't work out the others will make up for him. Don't think it'd be a problem though myself as he's shown recently how well he can play. Also, I think he should be brought back into the one day team soon in place of someone like bevan (don't start I just think he's past his prime and aus needs some new blood) as he's already shown he can live up to expectations at the highest level.
 

Eclipse

International Debutant
Everyone who thinks Watson may never be a good ODI player should take some time to think about that IMO.

As a batsman the biggest poblem he has always had has been that he is not the best player at finding the gaps early in his innings alot like Dravid was early in his ODI carear and he can be tied down if the boundrys are not flowing but on the other hand he does posses a hell of alot of brute strength in his shots and can find the fence or go over it easly once he is set.

He has good skill as a batsman as you can see by his FC record and with work there is still every chance he can become just as good an OD batsman as it is he is not that bad avraging around 30.

As a bowler he need's more variation and a less skiding action to be truely efective in OD games but given he has changed his action substantialy he may not be as skiding as before and that variation can be learnt over time.
 

marc71178

Eyes not spreadsheets
Eclipse said:
As a batsman the biggest poblem he has always had has been that he is not the best player at finding the gaps early in his innings alot like Dravid was early in his ODI carear and he can be tied down if the boundrys are not flowing but on the other hand he does posses a hell of alot of brute strength in his shots and can find the fence or go over it easly once he is set.
Sounds exactly like Freddy Flintoff!



Eclipse said:
He has good skill as a batsman as you can see by his FC record and with work there is still every chance he can become just as good an OD batsman as it is he is not that bad avraging around 30.
That average is somewhat inflated by about half of his knocks being not-outs!
 

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