Shane Watson is an earnest cricketer. Much like a Sanjay Bangar, Roger Binny or Manoj Prabhakar.
We have said this before; champion teams have either no need or an entirely different utility for such players.
The only champion team I can visualize Shane Watson thriving in; is the 1983 world cup winning Indian team. That team had only 3 specialists. Sunil Gavaskar, Krishnamachari Srikanth, and Balwinder Singh Sandhu. The rest were all multi-skilled players. Fielding wasn't considered a skill back then. Kapil Dev was an all rounder and that included fielding. Srikanth used to jump around; largely due to symptoms of nicotine withdrawal. That helped his fielding. But side effects can't be counted as cure.
Shane Watson for Sunil Gavaskar in that team would have been an ideal fit. For everyone; Shane Watson, Sunil Gavasakar and India. Gavaskar might think that it would be a racist move but he doesn't understand World Cups. So we'll be fine.
You look at what Watson has done in his career and you would say he is a pretty decent cricketer. He gives Australia steady starts and has a 5-for at Lords. In that sense he is a reverse Ajit Agarkar.
Shane Watson is designed to be a #6 or a #7 for Australia but he was no good at it. So they asked him to open the batting. There he hasn't failed. He hasn't entirely succeeded either. Kind of like Chetan Chauhan.
Chetan Chauhan is considered a successful opener. But that was India. When India were India. Not the India of today.
The Australlia of today is beginning to look like India. When India were India. Not the India of today. No wonder Shane Watson has found a home
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Shane Watson has really thrived as a bowler. He's dropped his pace (realising he is not a pure fast bowler) and now concentrates on moving the ball.
Probably Australia's best proponent of reverse swing.
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