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Shane Watson retirement: Statistical analysis of international career runs

A statistical analysis of Shane Watson's international career runs at his retirement.

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Shane Watson retires as one of Australia's finest T20I players © Getty Images
Shane Watson retires as one of Australia’s finest T20I players © Getty Images

Shane Watson entertained his fans throughout his career irrespective of format, match situation, opposition, bowler, pitch, and other conditions. His career came to an end when he played his last international innings yesterday on March 27, 2016 at Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali in what was a do-or-die contest against India. He was one of the most destructive Australian batsmen of his era. Watson is the only Australian player to score at least one century in all formats of the game. The cricket world will no longer see Watson smash those reckless boundaries in international cricket. On this occasion of his retirement, let’s analyse Shane Watson’s international career runs. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: India vs Australia, Super 10 Group 2, Match 31 at Mohali

Watson’s international career:

Span M I NO R HS Ave BF SR 100s 50s 0s 4s 6s
2002-2016 307 336 36 10950 185* 36.75 14465 75.69 14 67 21 1168 245

Shane Watson’s firsts in international cricket:

First innings: 2 vs South Africa at Centurion on March 24, 2002

First fifty: 77* vs Kenya at Nairobi on September 5, 2002

First hundred: 126 vs West Indies at Grenada on June 29, 2008

Shane Watson’s last in international cricket:

Last innings: 18* vs India at Mohali on March 27, 2016

Last fifty: 64* vs Pakistan at Adelaide on March 20, 2015

Last hundred: 124* vs India at Sydney on January 31, 2016

Watson’s distributions of runs – format wise:

Format Span M I NO R HS Ave BF SR 100s 50s 0s 4s 6s
Tests 2005-2015 59 109 3 3371 176 35.19 7094 52.59 4 24 6 483 31
ODIs 2002-2015 190 169 27 5757 185* 40.54 6365 90.44 9 33 12 570 131
T20Is 2006-2016 58 56 6 1462 124* 29.24 1006 145.32 1 10 3 115 83

Watson has proved himself in each and every format and his strike rate and average in all formats shows us that he was one of the great batsmen of Australian cricket. READ: Shane Watson retirement: End of a career replete with unfulfilled promise

Watson’s distribution of runs, by opposition:

Opposition M I NO R HS Ave BF SR 100s 50s 0s 4s 6s
Bangladesh 12 7 1 375 185* 62.50 267 140.44 1 1 0 36 21
Canada 1 1 0 94 94 94.00 90 104.44 0 1 0 9 4
England 69 84 6 2933 176 37.60 4206 69.73 5 16 5 351 43
ICC World XI 4 4 1 108 66* 36.00 178 60.67 0 1 0 6 0
India 40 52 2 1797 126 35.94 2565 70.05 3 11 2 199 44
Ireland 4 3 1 90 51 45.00 70 128.57 0 1 0 6 5
Kenya 3 2 1 98 77* 98.00 130 75.38 0 1 0 7 3
Netherlands 1 1 1 12 12* 4 300.00 0 0 0 1 1
New Zealand 22 22 4 667 105* 37.05 779 85.62 1 5 1 77 14
Pakistan 38 39 8 1292 120* 41.67 1797 71.89 2 6 2 126 28
Scotland 4 4 1 147 68 49.00 101 145.54 0 1 0 22 2
South Africa 30 33 2 824 88 26.58 911 90.45 0 4 1 79 24
Sri Lanka 32 32 2 815 83 27.16 1060 76.88 0 6 1 74 20
West Indies 45 48 5 1601 126 37.23 2182 73.37 2 12 9 165 35
Zimbabwe 2 2 1 97 79 97.00 125 77.60 0 1 0 10 1

Watson has scored more than 1,000 runs against four countries in his career — England, India, Pakistan and West Indies. READ: T20 World Cup 2016: Shane Watson’s retirement makes Australia’s dream of becoming T20I superpower more difficult

Watson has an average of more than 35 against all oppositions barring South Africa and Sri Lanka. He has scored most runs and hit most hundreds against England in his career.

Watson’s distribution of runs, by country:

Country M I NO Runs HS Ave BF SR 100s 50s 0s 4s 6s
Australia 102 117 13 4022 161* 38.67 5828 69.01 5 27 7 412 62
Bangladesh 7 6 1 301 185* 60.20 184 163.58 1 1 0 30 20
England 49 55 2 1631 176 30.77 2327 70.09 2 7 3 209 20
India 36 44 3 1544 126 37.65 2188 70.56 2 10 2 181 30
Ireland 3 2 1 39 26* 39.00 40 97.50 0 0 0 1 2
Kenya 5 2 2 87 77* 119 73.10 0 1 0 4 3
Malaysia 4 4 0 99 79 24.75 123 80.48 0 1 1 13 2
New Zealand 11 11 0 387 68 35.18 495 78.18 0 3 0 53 4
Scotland 2 2 0 105 68 52.50 67 156.71 0 1 0 15 2
South Africa 24 26 3 723 136* 31.43 810 89.25 2 2 3 69 27
Sri Lanka 21 21 2 623 72 32.78 587 106.13 0 6 1 61 30
UAE 9 9 2 392 116* 56.00 472 83.05 1 1 1 26 11
West Indies 33 34 6 979 126 34.96 1192 82.13 1 7 3 92 32
Zimbabwe 1 1 1 18 18* 33 54.54 0 0 0 2 0

Watson has scored more than one century in Australia, England, India and South Africa. He has scored a century in Bangladesh, UAE. and West Indies.

His average is above 30 in all countries barring Malaysia that showed us that he was a decent batsman in any conditions.

Watson’s Home vs Away record:

  M I NO R HS Ave BF SR 100s 50s 0s 4s 6s
Home 102 117 13 4022 161* 38.67 5828 69.01 5 27 7 412 62
Away 136 155 9 5093 185* 34.88 6766 75.27 6 28 6 595 113
Neutral 69 62 14 1835 136* 38.22 1871 98.07 3 12 8 161 70

As is evident, there is not much difference in his home and away performance in terms of average.

Watson runs yearly distribution:

Year M I NO R HS Ave BF SR 100s 50s 0s 4s 6s
2002 18 12 5 236 77* 33.71 350 67.42 0 1 0 12 4
2003 5 3 2 52 35* 52.00 75 69.33 0 0 0 3 0
2004 4 3 2 28 18* 28.00 46 60.86 0 0 0 3 0
2005 16 11 2 219 66* 24.33 379 57.78 0 1 0 14 2
2006 13 13 2 284 79 25.81 376 75.53 0 3 3 32 2
2007 14 10 5 267 68 53.40 243 109.87 0 2 0 25 7
2008 13 17 1 455 126 28.43 706 64.44 1 1 1 58 4
2009 35 40 5 1794 136* 51.25 2569 69.83 4 9 6 213 22
2010 45 56 2 1961 126 36.31 2847 68.87 1 18 1 221 41
2011 34 38 2 1599 185* 44.41 1614 99.07 2 12 2 177 57
2012 31 35 1 1129 83 33.20 1571 71.86 0 10 2 92 37
2013 32 43 1 1553 176 36.97 2029 76.54 5 5 2 185 33
2014 21 25 0 549 82 21.96 727 75.51 0 2 3 51 14
2015 17 19 3 526 81 32.87 735 71.56 0 3 1 57 8
2016 9 9 3 298 124* 49.66 198 150.50 1 0 0 25 14

Watson did not score many runs till 2007 but from 2009 to 2013, he scored more than 1,000 runs in each year and that shows his consistency as a batsman. He scored 4 centuries in 2009 and 5 in 2013. He also got 2 in 2011. READ: Shane Watson vs James Faulkner: Who is the better all-rounder?

Watson’s distribution of runs – under different captains:

Captain M I NO R HS Ave BF SR 100s 50s 0s 4s 6s
George Bailey 36 35 1 980 102 28.82 861 113.82 1 6 2 86 48
Michael Clarke 96 119 8 4141 185* 37.30 5440 76.12 7 21 8 447 95
Aaron Finch 5 5 0 109 47 21.80 90 121.11 0 0 0 7 4
Adam Gilchrist 5 4 2 139 77* 69.50 220 63.18 0 1 0 8 2
Brad Haddin 1 1 0 33 33 33.00 14 235.71 0 0 0 5 0
Mike Hussey 4 3 0 76 68 25.33 108 70.37 0 1 1 8 0
Ricky Ponting 131 134 21 4479 136* 39.63 6636 67.49 5 31 8 522 62
Steven Smith 13 16 3 417 81 32.07 545 76.51 0 2 1 36 10
Cameron White 5 5 0 195 59 39.00 113 172.56 0 3 0 18 13

Watson was most successful under Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke.

Watson’s distribution of runs – as captain and not as captain

  M I NO R HS Ave BF SR 100s 50s 0s 4s 6s
Captain 11 12 1 381 124* 34.63 438 86.98 1 2 1 31 11
Not captain 296 322 35 10569 185* 36.82 14027 75.34 13 65 20 1137 234

Shane Watson has captained Australia in 11 matches and as a captain, he scored a century and two half-centuries but he was quite effective, when he was not the captain of Australia as above numbers just proving this statement right.

Watson’s distribution of runs – batting position wise:

Position M I NO R HS Ave BF SR 100s 50s 0s 4s 6s
1 120 143 9 5762 185* 43.00 7634 75.47 8 41 8 661 122
2 40 40 3 1341 126 36.24 1213 110.55 2 9 5 131 47
3 55 68 2 2033 176 30.80 2905 69.98 4 9 8 219 35
4 11 13 2 371 83 33.72 665 55.78 0 2 0 33 8
5 6 6 2 117 64* 29.25 126 92.85 0 1 0 12 2
6 20 25 3 620 78 28.18 991 62.56 0 3 0 64 14
7 27 29 11 569 66* 31.61 782 72.76 0 2 0 41 11
8 9 9 3 102 49 17.00 114 89.47 0 0 0 4 6
9 1 1 1 35 35* 35 100.00 0 0 0 3 0

Shane Watson has always preferred to open the batting for Australia because at opening position, he averaged more than 36 and in other positions, he averaged less than 36. He has also smashed 10 centuries while opening the innings for Australia.

Watson’s distribution of runs, split by result:

Result MI I NO R HS Ave BF SR 100s 50s 0s 4s 6s
Won 187 192 29 6760 185* 41.47 7958 84.94 9 42 13 698 185
Lost 95 112 6 3090 126 29.15 4553 67.86 4 18 6 327 54
Tied 3 3 0 51 33 17.00 56 91.07 0 0 0 3 2
Drawn 12 22 1 941 176 44.80 1777 52.95 1 6 1 126 2
No result 10 5 0 108 79 21.60 121 89.25 0 1 1 14 2

Shane Watson has performed decently in all type of matches as he hit 6 centuries in day matches, 7 centuries in day/night matches and a century in night matches.

Watson’s batting performance in big tournaments and major trophies:

Tournament M I NO R HS Ave BF SR 100s 50s 0s 4s 6s
World Cup 22 19 7 643 94 53.58 595 108.66 0 6 1 67 17
World T20 24 22 3 537 81 28.26 381 140.94 0 5 1 41 31
Border-Gavaskar 13 25 0 778 126 31.12 1643 47.35 1 5 1 92 5
Chappell-Hadlee 11 10 0 356 68 35.60 420 84.76 0 3 0 43 3
Frank Worrell Trophy 9 14 0 508 96 36.28 1054 48.19 0 4 2 66 2
ICC Champions Trophy 17 15 4 453 136* 41.18 547 82.81 2 2 4 44 12
The Ashes 19 37 2 1487 176 42.48 2634 56.45 2 10 1 208 9
Trans – Tasman Trophy 2 4 0 83 65 20.75 149 55.70 0 1 0 13 2
Aus Tri Series (CB) 20 14 3 278 65 25.27 363 76.58 0 1 0 14 3

Shane Watson has been known as an impact player throughout his career and his average of 53.58 in ODI World Cups, 41.18 in ICC Champions trophy and 42.48 in The Ashes, easily

Thank you, Watto for a glorious career and your contribution will be remembered forever!

(Umang Pabari is an Indian mechanical engineer and a cricket enthusiast. Rahul Dravid and AB de Villiers are his role models.)

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