Shane Watson wants to open for Australia

Oct 15, 2014

Australia all-rounder Shane Watson has made a request in public to be used as an opener, rather than at No 3 as captain Michael Clarke has declared, when he returns to the national side.

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Watson is all set to make comeback in the national side after missing Australia’s tours to Zimbabwe and United Arab Emirates (UAE), where they are involved in a bilateral series against Pakistan.

Watson was quoted as saying by The Australian, “I have had my best success opening in all formats. I love going in knowing I can just take on the game and not worry about the consequences, which is when I am batting at my best.

“The biggest challenge for me when I am batting down the order is assessing the situation of the game and also trying not to worry about getting out and that’s normally when I get into a slightly negative mindset, which can affect my performance at times.” Watson added.

Australia skipper Michael Clarke on Monday confirmed that Watson will continue to be the preferred batsman at No 3 for the team in One-Day Internationals (ODIs). Clarke’s statements crashes the hopes of Steven Smith who was impressive in the three-match ODI series against Pakistan in UAE.

“In regards to one-day cricket, if Watto is fit, he will come in and bat No.3. He’s been very successful there for us and I like him batting in that position leading up to the World Cup. Smitthy’s grabbed his opportunity with both in regards to one-day cricket. He’s got an opportunity because we’ve got guys out injured. He’ll probably go back down to middle order,” Clarke was quoted as saying by the official website of Cricket Australia.