A piece of sports journalism called "In Defence of Shane Watson"

In Defence of Shane Watson

Many in the Australian cricket community have been rather harsh towards Shane Watson recently. There is a widely held perception that he has well and truly had enough of a chance to prove himself as a test-quality player, and well and truly failed. These critics argue that, although we can all obviously see the facility with batting that Shane has always had – his remarkable ability to plant a foot down the wicket and pummel shots all over the ground as if playing with children – as well as the deftness and skill of his bowling, the actual results he is producing are simply inadequate. Look at the numbers, they protest! A batting average (post-Sydney test) in the 35s and a bowling average of around 33, which may seem respectable until you consider that he has taken only 74 wickets at a strike rate of 71.9. Clearly, they howl, these numbers do not befit an Australian test player.

But I beg to differ.

Shane Watson has always been an unusual player. Those who were paying attention to cricket before 2005 (which is basically the year (aged 8) that I started paying attention to it), tell me that when Watson started his career, as a burly ball-belter and genuinely quick paceman, he truly was regarded as “a precocious talent” and “an exciting prospect”, and was touted by some, including Steve Waugh, as having the potential to become Australia’s first genuine all-rounder since Keith Miller. In the early years of the 2000s, playing for Tasmania rather than his home-state Queensland, it is not melodramatic to say that he “burst” onto the first-class scene, achieving success with both bat and ball phenomenonally early. Indeed, he scored a century in only his fifth game for Tasmania (the last game of the 2000-01 season), and, in his first five matches bowling, took 11 wickets at an average of 26.27. And this was just first foray into first-class cricket! His bowling statistics only improved the next year, seeing him top the Pura Cup wicket-taking charts for Tasmania, and he also continued to bat solidly in the middle order. In recognition of this success (and his potential), on the 24^th of March, 2002, aged only 20 years old, Watson was given his ODI debut against South Africa. Although he did not achieve any remarkable feats in his first few matches as an international cricketer, he did well enough to continue as an ODI player for Australia, playing a few games and achieving modest success throughout 2002.

But suddenly, at the beginning of 2003, Watson suffered three stress fractures in his back. His body had thus shown its first sign of what would later be revealed as fundamental weakness, and Watson had missed the 2003 World Cup.

Most cricket fans would know the basic story after that – after all, it followed a pretty basic pattern. Watson would recover, do well in domestic cricket, return to the Australian team, and just when he was beginning to look really good, he would sustain another injury.  The first repetition of this pattern began in the year of 2004. In this year, Watson performed very well in domestic cricket and was consequently given his test debut against Pakistan in the Sydney test of January 2005. Although it was not a standout debut, Watson followed it up by playing well against the ICC World XI, and was thus selected for the first test against the West Indies to be played in the Caribbean soon after. Yet, at this juncture – this nexus between obscurity and his dreams – the cruel mistress of fate reared her ugly head again: while diving to stop a Ramnaresh Sarwan on-drive, Watson dislocated his left shoulder. And, to make matters worse, just like in 2003, the man who replaced him was Andrew Symonds, a fellow Queensland-native and rising star. Although the first time Symonds had replaced Watson may not have induced Watson to fear for his place in the team, this time it must have done. The supersession in fact marked the beginning of a long-running rivalry between the two burly Queensland all-rounders for the number six spot in the Australian test team, as both of them continually impressed, but also continually failed to secure their place over the other.

While I may have given this impression hitherto, I must point out it wasn’t all bad for Watson. A big turning point came for him when Jamie Cox suggested that he should be used more as a batting all-rounder than a bowling one. Indeed, it was probably this comment and its consequences which secured him the spot opening the batting for Australia in the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy, alongside Adam Gilchrist. And in this tournament, his body finally stayed intact long enough for him to take advantage of the opportunity he had been given, seeing him impress with both bat and ball, and play a pivotal role in garnering Australia their first Champions Trophy victory.

So, after the tournament, Watson had finally made it. In fact, following it, he was not only named in the squad for the 2006-2007 Ashes, but was personally endorsed by Ricky Ponting as the right man for the number six spot. However, once more, Watson’s seemingly strong and powerful body malfunctioned, and he injured his hamstring. Thus, yet again, bodily breakdown had befallen him, thwarting his career. And this pattern did not stop. Indeed, 2006 and 2007 were years in which the natural cycle of injury-recovery-return-injury for Watson actually accelerated to an unprecedented pace. Watson was expected to be fit for the Boxing Day Test of 2006-2007 and, because of Damien Martyn's unexpected retirement, it looked likely that he would be included in the side. However, another injury setback in a match for Queensland ruled Watson out for the rest of the Ashes series. And who was the lucky man to replace him? That’s right: his archrival in international cricket, Andrew Symonds. You may recall that Symonds did not let the opportunity slip, cementing his place in the test team with a spectacular and unforgettable century, the important milestone of which he reached with a glorious six. (I certainly remember this: I even recall that, when it happened, I was in the car heading towards Melbourne on the Hume Highway for the next day of the test, and that you could hear the deafening roar of the MCG crowd on Grandstand as Maxwell, I think it was, made a brilliant call of the moment, making some reference to Symonds’ journey and probably using the word “redemption”). And although Watson returned in February to the ODI side, he broke down with injury yet again during the 29th match of 2007 Cricket World Cup and missed two matches of the Super 8s. Of course, after that, Watson returned in fine style, smashing an unbeaten 65 off 32 balls in the same tournament against New Zealand. But yet again, in the early stages of the 2007 ICC World Twenty20, Watson suffered a hamstring strain. Due to this injury, he not only missed most of the tournament but was out of action for basically the entire 2007–08 Australian season.

Watson finally returned to the test team when the “period of transition” was in full swing. At this point, determined to fix the fragility of his body, he dropped his strength training and, in its place, took up an intensive regime of pilates (was this the same time he began shaving/waxing his chest?). Luckily for Watson, this lifestyle change did seem to work, and his rate of injury-sustenance did slow down. In fact, ever since late-2008, except for a brief period of Phillip Hughes brilliance, he has basically been a permanent member of the test team of Australia. In 2009, he had his big break as a test batsman. After having scored a frustrating string of test 90s in the previous matches, most fans would probably remember watching a nervy Watson finally bring up his first test century on the fourth day of the Boxing Day Test against Pakistan. And to cap it off, during the Sydney test, at which he made yet another 90 (specifically, 97), the Australian Cricket Media Association presented Watson with Australian Cricketer of the Year Award.

So, finally, he had been recognised (admittedly, in a fairly grim year for Australian cricket). And finally, despite his poor conversion of 90s into 100s, the future looked bright for S. Watson. Many test centuries beckoned – and possibly even greatness. At this point, very few in the cricket community were criticising Watson. On 30 March 2011, when Watson was named test and ODI vice-captain, the future looked even brighter yet. And he was still only 29 years old when, on 11 April 2011, he made 185 not out off 96 balls against Bangladesh, the highest ODI score by an Australian batsman (passing Matthew Hayden’s knock of 181 in 2007), and an innings which included 15 sixes – an ODI record.

So I admit that Watson hasn’t done much of great note in the years since. He briefly silenced his critics in the 2013 England Ashes with what I hear was a sparkling knock of 176. But leaving that aside, you really would have to say that the last four years have all been rather barren for Watson at test level. And this was a period where he had only two injuries that caused him to miss important matches (in 2011, with hamstring and calf problems, and in 2012, with a calf injury). Nevertheless, in my opinion, he has still been useful, and this is despite constantly being shuffled around the batting order. He has still continued to hit lots of half-centuries. He has still continued to take wickets here and there, with his nagging line and length, and his skilful application of reverse swing.  He has still taken 40 catches in test matches – a pretty significant figure. And, in my opinion, any all-rounder with a batting average above 35 and a bowling average below 35 is a very good all-rounder, and will be very useful to almost any team. I believe that Watson is very useful to the Australian team.

Plus, in any case, with whom would we replace him? Before Phillip Hughes’ tragic death, the top order batting stocks in Australia looked scant. After it, they look dire.  We certainly don’t have any great all-rounders.

So lay off Watson. In the Sydney Test, he scored 81 and took three wickets. In recent ODIs, he has failed, but I have faith in him. Even if the brilliant talent never returns, even if the Watson worthy of comparison to the dashing fighter pilot and maverick Keith Miller fades into oblivion, I believe that Watson will eventually make himself a vital member of the Australian team.

Unusual players must be judged unusually.