Solving the Watson conundrum

[flibbertyjibber]

Watched an hour or so last night and he doesn't look a number 4. He is fighting his game at present as he has been injured then played no cricket to gain some form so he looks worse at the moment. He is either an opener or a number 6, no way can he be regarded as a long term option at 4 who will churn out big runs and average 45+.

The big thing with him is they have to either decide once and for all if he is a batsman, a bat who bowls the occasional spell ( as Clarke does) or if he is still to be regarded as an all rounder. Until they sort that out and stop shuffling between all 3 (often within the same series) then the guy is in a no win situation.

Personally I am not convinced he is a good enough top 6 player long term (an average of mid 30's after after 38 tests says that) but he has experience and with the year ahead now Ponting has gone that could be very important. Also it isn't as if there are a plethora of exciting young players being kept out of the side at present.

 

[uvelocity]

**** bois just saw watto pull a calf

 

[uvelocity]

Teach him to bowl spin imo

Whatever they do this in and out **** needs to stop

 

[Riggins]

He needs to stop bowling in t20s and odi's and for Nsw and **** for a start.

 

[Spikey]

I'm sure spikey had something useful to say

I don't

I will say watson should be in the top 6 batsman, but I mean this time tomorrow Mitchell Johnson could have scored as many test tons as Watson

 

[Spikey]

I love Usman, but he is a long way away from being a test cricketer. If you say Watson gets bogged down and he can get away with it by hitting out in shield cricket and you're advocating Usman, well...

If Watson misses Sydney I would seriously consider Moz or Maxwell. I just see no point picking Usman right now. I thought he hadn't made even any attempt to change his game. He more or less confirmed that in an interview ("He praised working with Lehmann and while the coach had made no technical changes, it was his approach to cricket that had appeal") . He failed once in test cricket because of that stuff. Really what's the point in picking him? if he plays, it's hard to care about any runs he may score anyway. On the flip-side, I think it's a lovely time to punt on an all-rounder.

I'd just pick Doolan though.

 

[Tangles]

Until we can find a stable bowling unit on the injuries front we need his bowling. On his batting the stats dont lie on where he should bat IMO. Have him open when fit with Warner. If he is injured just roll Cowan back into the team.

 

[Teja.]

Watson as a specialist bat alone is in Australia's top six batsmen... However I think that can only be achieved if you tell him he won't bowl and he needs to give it up. I don't think that should happen though, because he's a more valuable package with his bowling, and without this bowling he's by no means a lock, but I'm still confident he's in the best 6 bats.

He should bat at four.

Yeah, I agree with this.

 

[Red]

1. Cowan
2. Warner
3. Hughes
4. Mitchell Johnson (batting all-rounder)
5. Clarke
6. Museey
7. Wade
8. Peter Siddle
9. Mitchell Starc
10. Pattinson
11. Lyon


Sorted.

 

[sphynx]

The only reason I suggest Usman is that he is relatively young and might improve

Watto is 31 and regressing

IMO, its the equivalent of a Johnson vs Starc debate

One could've been a world beater and ****ed it up

The other has his whole career in front of him

Given the state of the Oz test team, I'd go with the youngster every time

It's not the time to be bring in a top order of Cowan, Warner, Hughes and Khwaja, 6 months out from the Ashes, and his bowling is more than handy, ffs he averages 30 with the ball which is as good as most of our quicks.

Khawaja isn't test standard atm imo....

 

[howardj]

Look at his record as an opener

We need top order bats

He gets inujured bowling

Conclusion? Pretty simple really - he plays as opener and doesn't bowl

 

[howardj]

You know that he averages more than both Khawaja and Cowan, right? Probably a lot more as an opener. And this is with his batting probably affected by bowling a lot.

That's right

He averages 44 as an opener, fields in the slips, and is our vice captain.

Cowan by contrast averages 34, is a nuffy in the field, and has no leadership role.

To say that he shouldn't be in the team unless he bowls, (and by implication that Cowan is of more value) is plain madness.

He always gets injured bowling, never batting.

 

[Ruckus]

Agree with Benchmark, except think it's getting awfully close to the time when he should stop bowling, or at least cut it down to no more than a handful of overs a match. As to where he should bat if playing as a batsman alone, I wouldn't be opposed to anywhere in the top 4. Not sure I'd want him opening again with Warner though. It was good with Katich because he would almost always play the role of the aggressor with Kat rotating the strike, but he is likely to have to take a back seat to Warner a lot of the time. And I'm not that confident in his ability to rotate the strike and play that role with as much success as he has before. Actually quite like the look of him at 4 tbh, so don't mind if he stays there for now. Probably a good thing for him to have Clarke there too.

 

[AlanJLegend]

I definitely think that in a perfect world (ie Australia in the late 90s/early 00s) Watson would be a gun ODI and T20 specialist who never needs to step foot in the test team. Unfortunately, as circumstances have it he is probably one of our top 6 batsmen. And even if somebody like Quiney would average 5 more with the bat, it's hard to justify taking that over Watson's contributions as a bowler.

It sucks about the constant injuries and apparent mental issues, because Watto is really a once-in-a-generation talent. We definitely need to look at either getting him to drop bowling and open the batting, or continue bowling at bat lower (perhaps 7 if Wade can bat 6?).

 

[Dan]

Yeah, an opening partnership of Watson and Warner doesn't fill me with confidence, especially given we have a problem of being 3/40 on a regular basis already. Cowan complements Warner nicely, even if he isn't the most talented of players.

Watson at 4 as a specialist bat is something I don't mind; but given our history of bowlers going down mid-Test, we really need a fifth bowler in there somewhere.

 

[robelinda]

LOL no way, Watson is injured AGAIN? That is hilarious. I didnt know.

 

[Red]

Surely he is the most regularly injured cricketer in history?

FFS, what's wrong with these ****s? I've NEVER (read it again, NEVER) had a soft tissue injury, and I usually bowl 20 overs a day.

Harden up you weak pricks.

 

[benchmark00]

Surely he is the most regularly injured cricketer in history?

FFS, what's wrong with these ****s? I've NEVER (read it again, NEVER) had a soft tissue injury, and I usually bowl 20 overs a day.

Harden up you weak pricks.

Reckon only Bond would rival him.

 

[Spark]

Yeah was about to say. Bond must've missed a sizeable majority of all the matches played during his career due to injury, even moreso than Watson

 

[Spikey]

how would we classify players who are done by 25 due to injury