- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Has any cricketer ever been allowed to fail as much as Shane Watson has? He should consider himself lucky he is playing in an era of Australian cricket where genuine all-rounders have been virtually non-existent.
Recently, James Faulkner and Moises Henriques have come into the picture for national selection, playing four Tests between them since early last year, but selectors have chosen to persist with Watson, as his first class batting average and century tally dwarves the other two.
Selectors will say he is in the side for his bowling as well as his batting, but does someone who has gathered 68 wickets in 51 matches (that’s 1.33 wickets per match) with a batting average of 36.33 deserve to be in the team?
It’s not just the raw numbers that are disappointing; his inability to transfer starts into significant scores has been very disappointing.
In 51 Tests, he has reached 50 on 22 occasions. Michael Clarke has done this only five more times in more than double the amount of Tests.
The difference between the two – aside from a vast amount of skill – is that Clarke goes on with it.
49.05% of Clarke’s half-centuries are converted into centuries.
15.38% of Watson’s half-centuries are converted into centuries.
Comparing Watson to Clarke is unfair, yes, but it shows you just how big the gulf is between them. And if Watson is going to bat at three – arguably the most important position in the side – and only bowl occasionally, he needs to improve.
Players like Phil Jaques (34) and Chris Rogers (36) must be bitter, deep down, they didn’t get more of an opportunity back around 2008 and 2009 when Watson was continuing to fail.
What was the point of persisting with Watson if his bowling was an afterthought?
But that’s in the past now. What matters most is that he performs in the upcoming series against South Africa.
Whether he bats at three or six, it would be a good change to see some consistency from him.
I’m not asking him to hit a double-century and take ten wickets in a match (although that would be nice), I just want to see an even performance across the three Tests.
His previous two series against South Africa have resulted in batting averages of 17.5 and 23.75.
How much money would Cricket Australia have to fork out to woo Jacques Kallis (over 13,000 runs and nearly 300 wickets) out of retirement to play for us? Personally, I would be glad to contribute.
It’d be a pleasant change to see a South African play for anyone other than South Africa or England.
Build your own fantasy cricket team and put it to the test with Draftstars daily fantasy competitions. Pick your match, pick your team and watch the points roll in to take out cash prizes on each match. What are you really gambling with? Set a deposit limit.