Watson out of Ashes opener

After a week of uncertainty, Shane Watson’s worst fears became a reality today as he was ruled out of the first Ashes test at his home ground in Brisbane.

Watson, who suffered a hamstring injury in a limited-overs match for Queensland and described the realisation soon afterwards that it may cause him to miss the first Test the worst moment of his career, will now target a return for the second test in Adelaide next Friday.

Michael Clarke, initially left out of the 13-man squad for the series opener, will take Watson’s place in the team to take on England at the ‘Gabba on Thursday.