It has been the story of Shane Watson’s life. The cricket star’s latest injury setback – a calf strain which has forced him out of Australia’s tour of the UAE – is just another induction into Watson’s hall of injuries.
His career continues to be punctuated by pain rather than performance.
From the moment Watson burst into Australian colours as a young baby-faced 21-year-old, his body has been his own worst enemy.
There was no question of talent lacking for Watson. He had the unique gift of being able to bowl fast at over 140 clicks, along with a textbook batting technique and brutal ability to hit the ball 15 rows back.
He was quickly talked up as being Australia’s answer to becoming Australia’s long-term all-rounder.
However, as with most bowlers who send the ball down at 140 kilometres per hour constantly, there was always going to be a question mark hovering over Watson’s head. Would his body, which had already been savaged by back stress fractures in his junior years, hold up to the rigours of international cricket?
The easy and immediate answer was no. This was justified after Watson was ruled out of the 2003 World Cup, with, you guessed it, a back stress fracture.
So what was the plan? What was his solution? It was to head to the gym, work tirelessly for hours and hours, harder and harder every single time to strengthen his muscles. Work ethic has never been an issue for Shane Watson, in fact it has always been one of his best attributes.
The problem was, however, that his solution was backfiring. Watson worked almost too hard, to the point his physique became one that resembled a NRL second rower, rather than a cricketer. It was never going to work out.
Despite his injury-prone nature, the selectors continued to back Watson 100 per cent whenever he was fit, and that led to his Test debut in early 2005. But just when Watson thought he was due for a long run in the side, he yet again broke down with another back-related injury.
This time it was a torn side muscle sustained in an ODI match against Pakistan in that same year. He missed the 2005 Ashes series but managed to regain fitness for the tri-series between England, Australia and Bangladesh on that same tour.
Watson found himself back into the Test squad in the Australian summer of 2005-06, but what was thought to be a brilliant piece of fielding that saved a boundary in the second innings of the first Test match against the Windies in Brisbane, resulted in a full dislocation of Watson’s left shoulder. He required surgery.
After that, Watson would not play another Test match for Australia for three years. In that time his luck was turning from bad to worse to almost deadly.
Between 2005-2009, a string of soft-tissue injuries such as calf strains and chronic hamstring injuries, another back stress fracture, and near-death experience, which was first thought to be a heart-attack and turned out to be food poisoning, attempted to prematurely end Watson’s roller coaster journey.
However, Watson’s never-say-die attitude left him to refine his training regimen, having linked up with trainers who determined much of his earlier gym work to be largely counter-productive to the demands of a medium fast bowler. He focused on bowling-specific exercises, increasing his core strength with the aim of injury prevention forever at the forefront of his intentions.
And that seemed to pay dividends as Watson, who for the first time in his career enjoyed not only a prolonged run in the Australian Test, ODI and T20 side, but he quickly became Australia’s most valuable player. He was scoring a truckload of runs – which famously led him to gaining a reputation for scoring 80s and 90s – he was taking crucial wickets at times when Australia needed it and he was crowned with the Allan Border Medal in 2010 and again in 2011.
In 2009-2011, Watson hit a much needed purple patch in his career and many thought his luck had finally taken a turn for the better. Yet still he continued to find himself on the sidelines.
Calf, hamstring and back injuries became recurring themes. Constant niggles restricted his bowling and saw him focus more on hitting the seam than producing the outright speed of his youth.
It was a hamstring injury that kept Watson out of action for six Tests against New Zealand and India in 2011-12, while the following summer he missed two of the three Tests in Australia’s most recent showdown with South Africa. A calf problem was again to blame for his absence from the matches in Brisbane and Adelaide.
Australia thumped the Indians 4-0, however his presence would have been helpful against South Africa, with both missed matches ending drawn despite the home side having their chances (Brisbane) and failing to close out the contest (Adelaide).
By 2013, the situation reached a head. The solution? Watson would put his hand up for selection as a batsman only for Australia’s ill-fated tour of India. It didn’t last. With a full return to fitness came renewed hope. Watson was thrown the ball by captain Michael Clarke again throughout both Ashes series.
Typically, he returned some economical spells, with the occasional wicket. Yet predictably, it was tempting fate.
Despite managing to get through the full Ashes tour, Watson’s calf and hamstring worries continued. Once again when he tweaked his calf injury while bowling on Day 1 of the Boxing Day Test match. However, as always, Watson was more determined than anyone to make it through the series. He successfully played out the series and added a couple of ODIs along the way, but not surprisingly the calf problems returned, forcing him out of the side for the first two Tests during the South Africa tour.
The numbers are more unflattering than perhaps they should be, given there were times he was available for selection but was simply overlooked, however they still tell a forlorn tale.
Since Watson made that ODI debut in March 2002, Australia have played 334 50-over matches. Watson has played in 173 of them – just 51.8 per cent. It’s a similar story in the five-day game. Since Watson debuted in January 2005, Australia have played 106 Test matches. Watson has played in 52 of those, or just 49.1 per cent.
By way of example, Australia captain Michael Clarke – himself plagued by a chronic back injury – has played in 97 of those 106 Tests.
While Watson still remains a very important member of the Australian side, with his long history of injuries and the fragility of his body it seems like the end of the road is sooner rather than later.
It’s a career where many along with Watson himself will wonder “what could’ve been”. You could wonder and imagine just how different everything could’ve been for him had he played 80 or 90 per cent of the games since his debut.
He could’ve been Australia’s greatest all-rounder ever and been compared fairly to Jacques Kallis. He could’ve been feared by many opposition teams around the world.
Or better yet, he could’ve played more match-winning innings with either bat or ball, leading to him being more respected by the Australian public.
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