Greg Chappell, a senior member of Cricket Australia’s selection panel, gave 29-year-old Shane Watson a green signal regarding his selection in Australia’s final-15 for February’s ICC World Cup 2011.
Chappell termed him as a “critical” player for Australia in defending their title. The former Australian top-order batsman has his hopes attached with all-rounder Shane Watson. He said, “He's critical to our chance of success. If he performs well, it's more likely that we'll do well.”
In the recently concluded 2010-11 Ashes series, which Australia lost by 1-3, Watson proved his worth compiling 435 runs at a remarkable average of 48.33.
The all-rounder sparked again on Wednesday when he took the Aussies almost over the line in the first Twenty20 match against traditional rivals England, which the hosts took to the last-ball before Chris Woakes sealed the deal for England with a wicket intact.
Chappell hailed Watson’s all-round efforts in an interview on Friday.
“He would probably be the hardest player to replace in our line up at the moment,” said the Aussie selector. “I think the modern cricketer has to be much more adaptable than ever before because of the three formats. I suppose if you're looking at the quintessential modern cricketer, Shane would fit that bill,” he added further
The former India coach said that what makes Watson more critical is his capability to adapt a game to each format. His flexibility factor adds more to his chances of being picked up in the final-15 for the esteemed cricketing event as he can bat in the top six and bowl as well.
“He's a very important player. I wouldn't like to put a number on it but he is certainly very important because of all those things,” said Chappell. “I think he wants to play every game he can at the moment; we're happy to accommodate that,” insisted the Australian selector.
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