Shane Watson | Australia

Full name Shane Robert Watson

Born June 17, 1981, Ipswich, Queensland

Current age 27 years 355 days

Major teams Australia, Hampshire, Queensland,Rajasthan Royals, Tasmania

Nickname Watto

Playing role All-rounder

Batting style Right-hand bat

Bowling style Right-arm fast-medium

Height 1.83 m

Profile

Hulklike, blond and spiky-haired, Shane Watson should be the shiny embodiment of modern-day Australian cricket - if only that body didn't keep cracking up. Vivacious in all

departments, he was the quintessential young man in a hurry. As a boy he played for Queensland Under-17s at 15, then went to the Academy. As a youth he upped and fled to

Tasmania, desperate to gatecrash first-class cricket. Within five games he had clubbed his maiden hundred; within a year he was picked for Australia. Talent-spotted with the

2003 World Cup in mind, he ultimately missed out with stress fractures of the back - the same injury that riddled his teenage years and flared again late in 2008. Until then his

batting had lacked nothing in swagger and only a little in gap-finding artifice, while his bowling looked willing if docile. Apart from a nude photoshoot in an arty men's mag he

faded swiftly from view, bouncing back in 2003-04 with four hundreds from No. 4 for Tasmania. He smashed an unbeaten 300, too, in a club game for Lindisfarne; then, irked by

opposition attempts to thwart him reaching his triple, immediately ripped out 7 for 29.

Watson remains the cleanest of hitters and, several remodelled actions later, decidedly sharp with the ball. Back at home in Queensland (he hated the cold), he tried to become

Australia's next champion allrounder, before switching to New South Wales for 2009 to be closer to his partner. "He has all the attributes," noted Alan Davidson in 2002. "A fine

physical specimen, good athlete; just give him time." Picked for his first Test in 2004-05, he landed face-down after his opening delivery before finding his feet with Younis

Khan's wicket and 31 runs. He didn't play in Australia's Ashes defeat, but his stock rose in the aftermath, as Andrew Flintoff highlighted the benefits of a genuine allrounder. The

following season was ruined by a partial dislocation of his shoulder when fielding just minutes after his second Test wicket against West Indies, and he watched his good mate

Andrew Symonds fill in during his rehabilitation.

Picked for the one-day tour of South Africa, he missed a return to the Test squad, but a fine 201 in the Pura Cup final demolition of Victoria eased one pain and created another

when he hurt his leg. Locked into Australia's one-day team as an opener - he survived food poisoning, which he feared was a heart attack, during a strong Champions Trophy

campaign - and lined up as the Test allrounder, he was again floored when his body faltered. A persistent hamstring injury destroyed his 2006-07 Ashes dreams and forced him

to wait until the end of the summer to seal his World Cup berth. This time a calf problem interrupted his tournament, but he still managed to make an impressive mark with his

batting and fielding - the run-out of AB de Villiers in St Kitts was outstanding. In six innings spent mostly in the lower order, he was dismissed only once and showed power and

innovation in clouting 145 runs at a strike-rate of 170.

The bargain of the Indian Premier League, Watson, who sold for US$125,000, was the Player of the Tournament for his 472 runs and 17 wickets, a haul which proved to the

national selectors he had recovered from yet another hamstring strain. After India he was due to have a holiday in the Maldives before heading to Hampshire, but instead jetted

to the West Indies as Matthew Hayden's replacement. He appeared in all five one-day matches, scoring his first international century and collecting at least a wicket per game.

Watson received praise for his performances in India, after he scored 170 runs and took 10 wickets in his first full series with the Test side, and played a home game in Brisbane

before being dropped. During his time with the team he picked up more stress fractures in his back, but he starred in his comeback against Pakistan playing as a specialist ODI

batsman. He is desperate to return to his all-round duties - and stay healthy - and will get a chance during the Ashes.

Shane Robert Watson (born 17 June 1981 in Ipswich, Queensland) is an Australian cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-handed fast medium bowler.

He debuted for the Australian cricket team in 2002, playing his first one-day international against South Africa. While he has become a regular member of the one-day squad,

Watson has played few Test Matches for Australia, having debuted against PakistanAustralia's at the Sydney Cricket Ground in January 2005. Despite being allocated to be

designated Test all-rounder, injuries have prevented him from claiming his position in the Test team.

Watson started his first-class cricketing career for Tasmanian Tigers after leaving his home state of Queensland, but returned to play for his native Queensland Bulls as his

international career was beginning. He has also played for Hampshire in the English County Championship. He regards Terry Alderman as one of his mentors.

Watson was selected for his first Australian team in early 2002, being selected to tour South Africa with the Test team after topping the Pura Cup wicket-taking charts for

Tasmania, as well as steady middle-order batting performances. Australian captain at the time Steve Waugh stated that Watson would possibly be Australia's first genuine all

rounder since Keith Miller and Alan Davidson in the 1950s. Watson expressed joy at being selected in an Australian team with Waugh, whom he cited as his idol. Watson

scored an unbeaten century on his debut in a tour match, but did not play in the Tests as the selectors retained the same XI that had swept South Africa 3-0 in the Australian

season. Watson did make his ODI debut on tour, ironically replacing Waugh, who was sacked after the team failed to make the ODI finals in the preceding Australian summer.

Watson continued as a regular member of the ODI team until he three stress fractures in his back, at the start of 2003, missing the 2003 Cricket World Cup. He was replaced by

his Queensland teammate Andrew Symonds, who proceeded to establish his position as the all rounder after scoring 140* and 91 during the tournament.

Watson's injury sidelined him until the 2003/04 Australian season, and during his rehabilitation he played most of the season as a batsman, allowing himself to improve his

batting skills while his back was still healing. During this time he smashed an unbeaten 300* for his club side, Lindisfarne.

Watson returned to regular ODI duty in the 2004/05 season, as a bowling all rounder. He also played in the Third Test against Pakistan as the fifth bowler, in order to allow

Australia to play two spinners and three pace bowlers on a dry Sydney Cricket Ground pitch.

Following England's Ashes victory over Australia in 2005 with a five bowler strategy, Australia responded by including Watson as the fifth bowler and all rounder in all Test

matches. Watson stated his intention to emulate Andrew Flintoff, who plays the analogous role for England. Watson played against the ICC World XI in the role, but he dislocated

his shoulder in just his second Test in that designated role against the West Indies, after diving to field a ball. Watson was again replaced by Symonds and was unable to

represent Australia for the remainder of the summer.

He was recalled for the one day squad for the 2006 tour of South Africa but was dropped when all-rounder Andrew Symonds returned from injury. Watson was looking to

establish a place in the Test side when he got injured, and Andrew Symonds stepped in to fill the gap.

Watson had been previously criticised for his relatively flat bowling trajectory and inability to move the ball, reflected in his relatively high bowling average. Jamie Cox, a former

Tasmanian team-mate and future Australian selector, felt that Watson was being mis-used as a bowling allrounder, believing that he was better suited as a conventional batsman

and part-timer bowler, rather than a bowler who engaged in power hitting in the latter part of an innings.

This changed when Watson opened the batting for Australia at the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy, alongside wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist, instead of Simon Katich. In the

competition he impressed with both the ball and bat, as Australia moved to their first Champions Trophy victory. Critics and captain Ricky Ponting cited his better strike rate,

straight hitting and the ability to bowl as the reasons why he was selected ahead of Katich. After failing in the first two matches against the West Indies and England, Watson

made a 50 in Australia's victory over India, which sealed their place in the semi-finals.

Ponting suggested that Watson would bat at the number 6 position in the Ashes series against England in 2006/07, and he was named in the squad. However, he came off the

ground in a one-day domestic game the week before the first Test with a suspected hamstring tear, which ruled him out for the first three Tests. Michael Clarke was called up in

Watson's place, and responded with a half-century, and then a century to cement Clarke's place in the team.

Watson was expected to be fit for the fourth Test on Boxing Day and the MCG in Melbourne, and because of Damien Martyn's unexpected retirement, it looked likely that

Watson 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. Watson eventually returned

in February to the ODI side, replacing Cameron White in the all rounder position, However he again broke down with injury during the 2007 Cricket World Cup and missed most

of the Super 8's before returning in fine style smashing an unbeaten 65 of 32 balls against New Zealand. Injury again struck Watson prior to the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 as he

missed most of the tournament due to hamstring strain.‎