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The recent series against India has given us yet more reasons to wonder why Shane Watson is still an ever-present figure in the Australian Test team.
I can only count a handful of times when Watson has been a large part of Australia’s success at Test level.
He is extremely frustrating to watch. To continue believing in him, time after time, failure after failure, seems to be the domain of wishful thinkers.
Having played 56 Test matches regularly as the number three or opening batsmen, he has only managed to score three Test centuries at a mediocre average of 38.
Out of the seven most recent number three batsmen in the seven largest Test playing nations, Watson has the lowest batting average and has scored the equal-second-lowest amount of centuries, despite having the second-highest amount of half-centuries and playing the second-most matches
Admittedly that list contains the likes of Kumar Sangakkara, one of the greatest batsmen in the history of the game,
And Kane Williamson, the Kiwi prodigy who has been touted as potentially the greatest batsmen the country has ever produced.
(The full list is at the bottom of this piece.)
The biggest reason Watson is still in the Test team is for his abilities with the ball. He is still currently one of Australia’s premier all-rounders, averaging 1.4 wickets a match at an average of 33.09.
He is good support for Australia’s specialist bowlers as he can bowl economically and be a handy wicket-taker. He is also one of the team’s top slips catchers, which these days are not too common.
On the other hand, Australia has a host of alternatives, the most notable being the much younger and very talented Mitchell Marsh, whose tall muscular physique means he can hit the deck hard, as well as provide explosive batting down the order.
Having already played a handful of Tests, the 23-year-old has shown the potential to be a mainstay in the Test team for the future.
So why not start giving him games now to develop his skills?
Other all-round alternatives are James Faulkner, Glenn Maxwell, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Sean Abbott. These are all great players who are also on the fringes of Test selection or exciting prospects in the shorter forms of the game.
So the question is why persist with Watson? He has been around in the Test arena for some 10 years now, and it’s beginning to look more and more like his best years are behind him. Once heralded as the next big thing in Australian cricket, he now looks like a player that could have and should have been Australia’s main player, had it not been for injury and inconsistent form.
With Marsh now bearing down on being a regular starter, is there really a need for another all-rounder? Could his spot instead be given to another upcoming batting talent such as Joe Burns?
Not considering Watson as a regular starter and handing out the baggy green to an alternative is long overdue. He might arguably have three or four years left in him, but if he doesn’t have a late surge and prove himself in the upcoming series against the West Indies, then it’s time to resign him to the scrapheap.
World’s number three batsmen
Australia: Shane Watson
Batting average: 35.74
Matches: 56
No. of centuries: 4
No. of half centuries: 24
No. of runs: 3646
South Africa: Faf Du Plessis
Batting average: 51.67
Matches: 20
No. of centuries: 4
No. of half centuries: 7
No. of runs: 1447
India: Cheteshwar Pujara
Batting average: 49.25
Matches: 27
No. of centuries: 6
No. of half centuries: 6
No. of runs: 2073
England: Gary Ballance
Batting average: 60.75
Matches: 8
No. of centuries: 3
No. of half centuries: 3
No. of runs: 729
Pakistan: Azhar Ali
Batting average: 41.31
Matches: 39
No. of centuries: 7
No. of half centuries: 18
No. of runs: 2851
New Zealand: Kane Williamson
Batting average: 45.96
Matches: 39
No. of centuries: 9
No. of half centuries: 15
No. of runs: 3034
Sri Lanka: Kumar Sangakkara
Batting average: 58.66
Matches: 130
No. of centuries: 38
No. of half centuries: 51
No. of runs: 12203
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