Watson considering giving up bowling

[bird_man]

So Shane Watson is considering giving up bowling.

Is he a good enough batsman to stay in the side for his batting only?

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-12-29/watson-ponders-bat-only-test-role/4447034?section=sport

 

[Carbine Chaos]

Terrible idea given he is a better bowler than batsman.

 

[iDon]

He is a good player but his bowling far outshines his batting. 2 tons and like what 15 50s?

But then again I think Clarke should be batting at 3 or 4 as our best batsman and dropping Watson down to 6 could see him do some serious damage against a ball not moving much.

 

[bird_man]

I'd drop him down to 6 and see how he goes. If he still can't bowl his batting needs to improve to warrant a game in my opinion.

If Clarke can bat at 5 surely he can bat at 4.

 

[Carbine Chaos]

Could simply switch Watson and Hussey in the order with the view of replacing Hussey with a top order bat like Khawaja when his time comes.

Ed Cowan
David Warner
Phil Hughes
Mike Hussey
Michael Clarke (c)
Shane Watson

 

[Ducky Tie]

I don't see how it is a bad decision. He is a better bowler than batsman but it's not like he would give it up because he doesn't want to bowl or because he values his batting more. It will be because it is what he must do to keep himself on the park. People undervalue how infuriating it must be continually being on the sidelines, not being able to do what he loves because of injury.

On the selection side of things, I think it would come down to Watson vs Cowan. By the way Pat Howard was talking this morning, I think the selectors are loath to have no genuine bowling options in the top seven after the Adelaide test so I think they would want to bring some sort of all rounder in. That would leave Watson and Cowan vying for the one spot in my opinion. Without focusing on bowling, I think Watson is a better batsman than Cowan and has runs on the board as an opener despite some poor form over the last couple of years where he hasn't been able to get any continuity in his game.

 

[Carbine Chaos]

I think it's a poor decision, tom, because his ability to gain reverse swing in England will be more valuable to bringing home the Ashes than a series of Watson starts with the blade shall be.

 

[Selective Retention]

The goalposts on the rotation/player management system get shifted each test.

I think Watson's idea of not bowling would be to angle to open again personally.

 

[Ducky Tie]

I think it's a poor decision, tom, because his ability to gain reverse swing in England will be more valuable to bringing home the Ashes than a series of Watson starts with the blade shall be.

That's probably right, but I just think it's got to the stage where he just can't stand being injured anymore. There is little more than a 50/50 chance of him being fit when the Ashes come around if he continues to bowl and from an individual point of view, I can certainly see why would give up bowling. It's not about what he's better at, it's about staying fit.

I can see why people other than him would want him to keep bowling though, his bowling would be really valuable in England.

 

[fumbler]

Could simply switch Watson and Hussey in the order with the view of replacing Hussey with a top order bat like Khawaja when his time comes.

Ed Cowan
David Warner
Phil Hughes
Mike Hussey
Michael Clarke (c)
Shane Watson

Liked him as an opener as he cut into opposition bowlers, but I also agree to put him at six.

 

[The Falcon Strike]

How about he considers giving up T20 cricket?

His bowling is quality, his batting is that of an all-rounder, not a genuine top 4/5 - evidenced by his inability to craft a long innings.

If he isn't bowling, he isn't in the test side IMO.

Then again - he is no better/worse than Cowan.

 

[Ducky Tie]

Then again - he is no better/worse than Cowan.

An average of 43 when opening compared to Cowan's average of 34 suggests different.

 

[Marlin01]

It was only a season or so ago that Watson was easily our best batsman. He's struggled for continuity, but I have no doubt he would be a world-class batsman if he could stay on the park.

 

[The Falcon Strike]

An average of 43 when opening compared to Cowan's average of 34 suggests different.

They both average similar with the bat.

The problem is, whilst Watson might score more in aggregate - he isn't one to lead a batting scorecard.

Whilst you don't want someone completely inconsistent - you do want someone at the top of the order who can go on and make centuries at a fairly regular rate. That isn't Watson. It should be Watson, but it isn't for some reason.

 

[The Falcon Strike]

It was only a season or so ago that Watson was easily our best batsman. He's struggled for continuity, but I have no doubt he would be a world-class batsman if he could stay on the park.

True enough - but that's like saying Brad Ebert was the best midfielder at Port Adelaide. (It helps I'm watching Port on TV at the minute)

Our batting has been downright horrible for a while now. We have two genuine world class batsman at the moment. The problem is filling the other 4 spots.

 

[Natho]

Will hurt having watto give up bowling.

 

[Cleavy]

If he isn't bowling, he isn't in the test side IMO.

that's my take also

 

[Marlin01]

that's my take also

Who would you bring in?

 

[iluvparis]

May as well change thread title to Watson considering giving up test cricket.

If he doesn't bowl - he shouldn't be anywhere near the side.

 

[Carbine Chaos]

Even if he didn't bowl he would certainly still make the side...or at least be in contention.

The other middle order options are the likes of Khawaja and Doolan, after all.

 

[angus BEEF]

How about he considers giving up T20 cricket?

I doubt it considering he is currently the number 1 ranked batsman and 5th ranked bowler in the world for T20.

http://www.relianceiccrankings.com/ranking/t20/batting/
http://www.relianceiccrankings.com/ranking/t20/bowling/

 

[frankrizzo]

Giving up bowling would be the end of his test career more than likely, it's obvious the selectors and clarke don't rate him highly just as a top order bat and that if he can't bowl he's unlikely to get picked long term.

The real question is would it help?

The bloke is so soft he could put himself out for 6 months from a shaving cut, he will still get injured when not bowling.

 

[mediumsizered]

Giving up bowling would be the end of his test career more than likely, it's obvious the selectors and clarke don't rate him highly just as a top order bat and that if he can't bowl he's unlikely to get picked long term.

The real question is would it help?

The bloke is so soft he could put himself out for 6 months from a shaving cut, he will still get injured when not bowling.

There is nothing soft about Watto, the injuries he has overcomes proves this. Unfortunately his body has let him down again & again. Not unlike what has happened to Scott Gumbleton in the AFL.

 

[Wallaby]

How about he considers giving up T20 cricket?

Yes, well - he's the best 20/20 cricketer in the world. I know we all say Terst Cricket is the Ultimate (and it is), but Watson could probably make a couple of million per year. Tough to give that away.

His bowling is quality, his batting is that of an all-rounder, not a genuine top 4/5 - evidenced by his inability to craft a long innings.

If he isn't bowling, he isn't in the test side IMO.

I don't think he is that good a bowler - his record does not show that. He looks good, but he's rarely been able to bowl a long spell, and his strike rate and average are at Kallis levels - ie, good for a batting all-rounder but not good enough for a test bowler. He is economical.

Then again - he is no better/worse than Cowan.

True that - over the last couple of seasons (pre-Clarke's golden form) he was our most reliable bat. His opening record is significantly better than Cowan. When he came back into the team, he should have moved up to open, and Cowan dropped or shuffled down the order.Watson has proven he's a better opener than Cowan, so stick with that, rather than trying to make him into something else.

I think he suffers from the fact that he's an all-rounder - and I've always believed that an all-rounder has to be good enough at one of the skills (batting or bowling) to warrant a place in the team. The Australian selectors seem to think differently - fair enough. I don't think Watson is quite at that level with batting, and nowhere near it with his bowling. But if he gives up bowling, who knows?

 

[frankrizzo]

There is nothing soft about Watto, the injuries he has overcomes proves this. Unfortunately his body has let him down again & again. Not unlike what has happened to Scott Gumbleton in the AFL.

Ok fair enough the blokes body is soft and as he has refused to give up any other forms of the game, make any changes to his obviously flawed fitness/weights regime you can only assume he's a little soft upstairs as well.

Watson wants to be a test one day and 20/20 star...well he should ask for a new body or accept that to play 10 ashes tests he has to sacrifice a form of the game and change his fitness regime.