Shane Watson: Looking for a fresh guard in the Ashes

Shane Watson – looking for redemption

There was a lot of anticipation when Shane Watson made his Test debut against Pakistan at Sydney. A hard-hitting batsman and more than handy with the ball, the strongly built all-rounder was Australia’s answer to Andrew Flintoff.

Brought on as the first bowling change, he slipped and fell face-down during the follow through of his opening delivery. He got up with a sheepish smile, brushed himself and resumed to finish a decent over. Later on in the Test match, he scored 31 with the bat before getting the wicket of the ever-dangerous Younis Khan.

In hindsight, that match depicted Watson’s Test career in a nutshell – brimming with potential, occasional flashes of magic but remembered largely for the ‘falls’ he has had.

Based on his performance, his Test career can be broadly divided into three categories

Quite clearly, he has had a golden period sandwiched between two ordinary ones. But what these numbers don’t tell is the numerous times injuries have threatened to stall his career. In the initial three years of his career, he had more breakdowns than Test matches to his credit. A dislocated shoulder one day, a strain on his hamstring the other, a pulled muscle in the calf, stress fractures on his back – there was a time he seemed done and dusted as far as international cricket was concerned.

After a man of the series performance in the inaugural edition of IPL, he forced his way back into the one-day team as an opening batsman; but doubts still persisted about whether his fragile body will be able to handle the demanding hardships of Test cricket.

The turning point came during the 2009 Ashes series when he was drafted into the playing eleven as an opener in the third Test at Edgbaston in place of an under-performing Phillip Hughes; and he responded with three successive half-centuries. Although they lost the series, Watson’s consistent run was one of the few positives for the Aussies. What followed in the next two seasons was the best period the all-rounder has had in his sporadic Test career.

Batting at the top of the order, more often than not, he laid very good platforms for Australia. Although he didn’t score as many match-defining centuries as Matthew Hayden or Justin Langer – he has just two of them – Watson still managed to rake up decent scores consistently, scoring 14 half centuries in 18 Tests. Albeit a touch slower, he improved with the ball as well and became a vital cog in the Australian Test setup.

But just when it seemed like Watson is all set to take it to the next level, he had another ‘fall’; a much bigger one this time. A series of niggles and strains meant that he missed most of the home Tests against India, South Africa and Sri Lanka. He even gave up his bowling for a while; his injury management plans were discussed in the Australian cricket circles, as opposed to his batting performances.

Next was the tour to India, where Watson was chosen strictly as a middle-order batsman. With senior pros Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey having retired and him being the vice-captain and one of the senior members, he also had the responsibility to oversee a smooth transition of the inexperienced team. But as it turned out, things went from bad to worse.

Not only did he fail miserably with the bat, scoring just 99 runs in 6 innings at a dismal average of 16.5, he was also one of the main culprits in the homework-gate controversy, and was dropped for the third Test in Mohali. After a few outrageous comments in the media, he came back to take the captain’s mantle from an injured Clarke in the fourth Test at Delhi but couldn’t save his team from a whitewash. Both on and off the field, Australian cricket had hit a new low and Watson was in the eye of each storm.

Like in 2008, it was the IPL that came his rescue again where he emerged as the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. Apart from batting with gusto to pull his team out of difficult situations on several occasions, he also resumed his bowling to increase his worth in the team.

Watson started his English sojourn with a match-winning century against West Indies in a warm-up tie for the ICC Champions Trophy, but couldn’t replicate his good form in the main tournament. More disappointment was in store as he failed with the bat and saw his side, the two-time defending champions, crash out of the event without winning a single game.

Will Watson bow out as a legend or a lost talent?

The tour, however, is far from over as there is a little matter of the Ashes series to be dealt with. Watson is back to the series that gave him a second wind as a Test cricketer, and has already stated his desire to begin a new chapter in his Test career in the upcoming series against England. Notable all-round efforts in the Ashes often tend to escalate good players into legends and their deeds become part of the folklore – Ian Botham and Andrew Flintoff will testify to that. If Watson can play to his potential and help Australia regain the urn, he will earn himself the cult status he was always destined to.

If not, he will remembered as the man, full of promise, who fell face down every time a challenge was thrown his way.