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Shane Watson: what's holding him back?
- Thread starter Neil Pickup
- Start date
four_or_six
Cricketer Of The Year
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pup11
International Coach
Watto for me isn't an all-round batsman yet, if the conditions are flat then he could massacre the bowlers pretty much on his own but in testing conditions he really doesn't have the technique to survive and play an innings of substance.
I think if he has to improve as a test opener then he needs to learn how to change gears according to different situations, atm he is purely a one dimensional power-hitter and when you bat like that chances of you throwing away your wicket go up quite a lot.
I think if he has to improve as a test opener then he needs to learn how to change gears according to different situations, atm he is purely a one dimensional power-hitter and when you bat like that chances of you throwing away your wicket go up quite a lot.
benchmark00
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There is no way this is true. I have seen him play a number of patient knocks.
benchmark00
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pup11
International Coach
Patient knock doesn't mean blocking every ball that's bowled at you, patient knock means in tough situations looking to play the gaps and working up a partnership. With Watto its either block or attack, but as White has learned the hard way that the moment the big hits don't come off then there isn't much left to fall back upon.
pup11
International Coach
That's my point really, that innings of his despite him scoring a century wasn't that good. He scored the first 50-60 runs in positive fashion but thereafter he totally went into his shell and started blocking even the bad balls which allowed India to claw their way back into the game.
benchmark00
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That is such a fallacy. I'm no Watson fan boy, but to say that he muscles or blasts everything is a blatant mistruth which I can only imagine is based on the fact that he's a tank.
One of his major go to shots is a delicate late cut ffs.
His poor conversion rate is almost definitely mental, whether that is a result of the role he has to play in the field is an issue for debate, but it has nothing to do with his approach to batting in a technical aspect.
Spark
Global Moderator
Yeah that's bizarre. His batting often looks muscular and all, which is why I don't think he's awesome to watch bat (merely "good"), but you don't hit the ball as sweetly through cover and straight (in a very orthodox manner) as he does without having superb timing and high quality technique.
irfan
State Captain
Watto has a huge amount of potential with the bat and he has the ability to rack up Kallis-esque stats but there are a couple of things holding him back.
The main reason for his poor conversion rate is as others have mentioned - a lack of concentration, he plays out the new ball and any swing, you think it's all fine and dandy - then all of the sudden he'll miss a straight one on his pads.
I think one aspect of his technique that he could improve is use of his wrists (not bottom hand - that's fine) in guiding the ball through the gaps, especially in front of square. His weakness is the inducker, and he doesn't use his wrists well enough to counter the late swing and often gets caught rooted to the crease playing with a very straight bat. I'd like to see him hit an on-drive through mid-on/mid-wicket for those deliveries.
He loves to plonk his front-foot down and play the forward defense but there doesn't seem to be any thought of directing or dropping the ball away from the fielder so he is missing out on a lot of strike rotation opportunities.
The main reason for his poor conversion rate is as others have mentioned - a lack of concentration, he plays out the new ball and any swing, you think it's all fine and dandy - then all of the sudden he'll miss a straight one on his pads.
I think one aspect of his technique that he could improve is use of his wrists (not bottom hand - that's fine) in guiding the ball through the gaps, especially in front of square. His weakness is the inducker, and he doesn't use his wrists well enough to counter the late swing and often gets caught rooted to the crease playing with a very straight bat. I'd like to see him hit an on-drive through mid-on/mid-wicket for those deliveries.
He loves to plonk his front-foot down and play the forward defense but there doesn't seem to be any thought of directing or dropping the ball away from the fielder so he is missing out on a lot of strike rotation opportunities.
pup11
International Coach
He is still predominately a leg-side player and the cover-drive and straight-drive that you are talking about aren't really his go-to shots.
I think Watto still has a lot to learning to do in regard to how a test innings should be built, he plays his shots and tries to put the new ball bowlers under pressure but a basic thing like rotating the strike is hardly on his agenda and unfortunately most times whenever he tries to rotate the strike he either runs himself or his partner out.!!
wellAlbidarned
International Coach
You been watching the same Watson as the rest of us man?Agree about his strike rotation. Like Mccullum, he is rather a block-or-blast player (a ****ing good one though).
flibbertyjibber
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As a fan of an opposition side when Watson is batting you always feel you have a chance of getting him whether he has 2 or 82 on the board. You couldn't say the same about many Aussies of the last 20 years, with Watto you are just waiting for the brainfart that inevitably comes along. In the last ashes i was happy watching him get his nice 60's etc as i knew he wouldn't go on and the others were so out of nick you knew England would be on top soon after Watto gave it away.
He needs to toughen up his mental strength, perhaps a few chats with Steve Waugh wouldn't go amiss.
He needs to toughen up his mental strength, perhaps a few chats with Steve Waugh wouldn't go amiss.
SamSawnoff
U19 Vice-Captain
He's been playing a very long time now. If mental strength isn't there, it isn't there. It's like expecting Marcus North to develop consistency.
Spark
Global Moderator
Indeed. In Tests it's his most productive attacking shot.
Agree about his strike rotation. Like Mccullum, he is rather a block-or-blast player (a ****ing good one though).
FaaipDeOiad
Hall of Fame Member
I don't know about that, he's only played 27 tests, and less than that as a top order batsman obviously. He is almost 30 but I don't think he's been playing in his current role long enough to suggest his current mental issues are something he can't work through.
Remember when people said he was incapable of scoring quickly in the lower order? He's someone who has worked through weaknesses in his game before, it's a pretty clear strength as a player.
SamSawnoff
U19 Vice-Captain
I'd love it if he could gain some form of solidity about his batting so that he didn't throw his wicket away. Having an opener do that so often is such a downer, but I don't expect him to suddenly become a really concrete opener at test level. He may have only played 27 tests but as you say he's nearly 30 and has a lot of experience at first class level.
He looks like a ODI opener in test cricket. If he was better against spin, i'd want someone else doing the job.
Jono
Virat Kohli (c)
He's still perhaps two-three years away from his peak. I wouldn't be too concerned just yet. Obviously its an undesirable quality to be giving away starts due to a lack of concentration more than a terrific ball. But to say he's mentally weak now so he always will be is definitely wrong.
I believe it's mostly a mental issue.
There are one or two minor gripes which people like to raise about this technique, but all considered I think the technical side of his batting is very strong and more than sufficient for him to dominate as a test batsman.
He's always been pretty one-paced and done most of his scoring in boundaries, he's certainly worked on improving that aspect of his game since he first emerged but he's still no Michael Bevan.
In my eyes a lot of these dismissals when he's settled can be put down to over-confidence. The one which stands out in my mind is the first innings in Adelaide last summer. We'd had a terrible start but then he played beautifully and stablilised the innings and we really needed him to push on, but instead he chased a wide half volley he had no business in playing and canned it straight to gully.
It's almost as if once he gets to a point in his innings where he feels settled his ego and will to dominate take over and suck him into doing things he wouldn't have done earlier on in the knock. It's been an issue in tests and ODIs for over a year now and needs to be corrected, he's too good a player to be getting out in that sort of fashion and we're so reliant on him nowdays we just can't afford it.
There are one or two minor gripes which people like to raise about this technique, but all considered I think the technical side of his batting is very strong and more than sufficient for him to dominate as a test batsman.
He's always been pretty one-paced and done most of his scoring in boundaries, he's certainly worked on improving that aspect of his game since he first emerged but he's still no Michael Bevan.
In my eyes a lot of these dismissals when he's settled can be put down to over-confidence. The one which stands out in my mind is the first innings in Adelaide last summer. We'd had a terrible start but then he played beautifully and stablilised the innings and we really needed him to push on, but instead he chased a wide half volley he had no business in playing and canned it straight to gully.
It's almost as if once he gets to a point in his innings where he feels settled his ego and will to dominate take over and suck him into doing things he wouldn't have done earlier on in the knock. It's been an issue in tests and ODIs for over a year now and needs to be corrected, he's too good a player to be getting out in that sort of fashion and we're so reliant on him nowdays we just can't afford it.