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Early childhood experts say a human being learns more in their first five years than in the rest of their life. In Test match terms, Shane Watson’s fourth appearance for Australia is teaching him more about the game than he had learned earlier in his stop-start career.
Watson shone with ball and bat to help Australia into a strong position at stumps on day four of the first Test against India in Bangalore.
Returns of 3-45 and 32no were in fact the best Test bowling and batting figures of his time in the Test side and they came at crucial periods in a match where the ascendancy has been with Australia for long periods but has always been only one poor session away from being lost.
“This Test match has been the most fun I’ve ever had playing cricket, it’s been an amazing learning experience for me already, just batting out there today was probably the most I’ve ever learned in an innings,” Watson said tonight.
“Facing Harbhajan Singh bowling extremely well and a fair bit of reverse as well, and then bowling I’ve learned a lot already.
“It’s more fun than I ever thought I would have playing Test cricket.”
Watson is in a Test match for the first time since he succumbed to injury during a victory over the West Indies at the Gabba in November 2005.
In the intervening three years he has traversed the depths of despair and his final road back into the Australian team was via the off-beat path of the inaugural Twenty20 Indian Premier League earlier this year.
During that tournament Watson was able to stay on the park throughout, earning player of the series honours and silencing the doubters who have previously looked more towards his long list of injuries than to his considerable talents.
The IPL experience in local conditions certainly helped him in Bangalore.
Bowling straight at good pace, Watson posed problems for all batsmen, finding a way through the strict defence of Rahul Dravid and then returning late in the day to defeat the free-swinging Harbahjan with extra lift that was far from easy to extract from a dying surface.
He did it again on the fourth morning, tailing one in to Anil Kumble for an obvious lbw.
“The wickets for me don’t really matter, it’s more for just about bowling extremely tightly and when the ball’s going reverse it definitely gives me more options and opportunities to get wickets,” Watson said.
“My role is just to bowl as tightly as I can, build pressure and make it really hard to score, I enjoy every wicket I do get but my role is definitely more so to tie up and end as much as I can.”
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