Shane Watson is a prominent name in cricket history- a powerful all-rounder who was a very important feature of the Australian National Team was also widely known for his exploits in T20 franchise cricket. Shane Watson was a highly adaptable batsman who could bat both up the order as well as in the lower batting line-up to finish off matches along with opening the innings. A strong hitter of the ball he was exceptional on the up and had a full-fledged swing of the bat with a high backlift. His bowling with all the variations was also useful especially in limited-overs cricket.
Shane Watson is well known among Indian fans as well for his contributions in the Indian Premier League IPL- he has played in a variety of teams and is now associated with the Chennai Super King’s with whom he recently won the coveted title. Valued highly by the fans he was the highest-paid foreigner from 2011- to 2015. Watson has the ability to quickly take away matches from his opponents in a matter of a few deliveries and that is what makes him so dangerous.
Early Life and Family Background:
Shane Robert Watson was born on 17th June 1981 to parents Bob Watson, mother Barb Watson in Ipswich Queensland Australia. Shane Robert Watson attended the Ipswich Grammar School for his early education.
Shane Watson decided to marry Lee Furlong and has three kids – Matilda and Victoria Watson and a boy named William Watson and a daughter Matilda Victoria. He also has a sister named Nicole Watson and is rumoured to love singing and playing the guitar.
Association with Cricket:
Shane Watson was the recipient of Australian Cricket Academy AIS scholarship for his success in the domestic circuit.
At first he started playing for Tasmania but then returned to play for Queensland. He had tremendous success in the PURA Cup and caught the eyes of the selectors. He was contributing both with the ball by topping the wicket takers list and also was useful with his middle order batting performances.
International career
ODI Career:
Shane Watson was selected for his ODI senior team debut in the early 2002s when Steve Waugh was dropped on the back of some heavy criticism due to the failure in the preceding Australian summer.
Shane Watson was selected for the test side for the tour of South Africa and was also a part of the ODI cricket squad. Shane Watson was a consistent member of the team before being injured and was replaced by Andrew Symonds for the ICC World Cup 2003. Symonds scored 143 and 91 in the tournament wherein Australia won the Cup and he cemented his place in the side.
Slow and Steady growth in the Team:
Shane Watson partnered with the right-handed batsman Adam Gilchrist to open the innings for Australia replacing Simon Katich in the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy. Shane Watson scored a half-century against India before scoring 57 along with 2 wickets against New Zealand in the final.
Big Knocks:
In the 2009 Champions Trophy as well he scored consecutive hundreds against England and New Zealand in the semifinals and finals respectively to help Australia to the title.
He scored 185*from 96 deliveries against Bangladesh and broke several records during his innings. He was the fastest to get to 150 runs, the highest runs from boundaries and also the highest 2nd innings score in ODI cricket crossing MS Dhoni’s 183 against Sri Lanka.
Australian Test career:
Injuries player a crucial role in the initial stages of his career- he was named in the squad for Australia’s National Cricket Team 2006/07 Ashes series but met with a hamstring tear and was replaced by Michael Clarke who scored a century and a half-century to solidify his place in the side.
When it seemed likely he would replace Damien Martin for the 4th test on Boxing Day he had another injury setbac6ans he was ruled out for the entire Ashes series.
He was then injured during the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup but came back to score an impressive 65 off 32 balls against New Zealand. He missed the 2007 inaugural T20 World Cup due to a hamstring strain and was out for the 2007/08 season.
Comeback in the Team:
Shane Watson made a comeback to the Australian Test side for the 3rd Ashes Test at Edgbaston in 2009 and opened alongside Simon Kattich. Shane Watson made 62 and 53 in the two innings in a rain-affected match. He also played in the home series against the West Indies and scored 96 in the first test at Adelaide.
Shane Watson inches ever so close to his maiden test century in the first test against Pakistan but got out on 93 after a mix-up resulting in a runout. On day four Shane Watson scored his maiden century in Test matches and went on the score 120* and was awarded the man of the match award.
In the 2nd Test match, Shane Watson was dismissed on 97 and was awarded the Australian Cricketer of the Year by the Australian Media Press Association.
In the first test during the 2010 tour of India vice-captain Shane Watson scored a patient 126 from 338 balls on a low turning pitch at Mohali. He had had an excellent run during the warm-up matches leading up to the series and also scored 56 in the 2nd innings. During the 2009-2010 period he had the highest batting average for Australia 50.40 in test matches.
T20 International Career
Twenty 20 cricket was always Shane Watson strength and he displayed it in a full fashion during the 2012 ICC T20 World Cup. Before the start of the tournament Australia was ranked only 10th and nobody had any expectations from them but after 4 consecutive wins against top sides they slingshoted to 6th rank and much of this was due to the right handed batsman Shane Watson.
Dominating the Tournament:
In the first Match against Ireland he picked up 3 wickets for 36 runs and then scored 51 off 30 balls to finish the match off in 15.1 overs with the man of the match award in his pocket. He followed it up with 2-29 against West Indies picking up the wicket of Chris Gayle and Kieran Pollard and scored 41 off 24 balls to win his second consecutive man of the match award.
Controversy with Clarke and Arthur:
Shane Watson too had his fair share of personal problems during his playing days the most notable was with former Australian captain Michael Clarke and then Coach Mickey Arthur during the 2003 tour of India when he was unable to give a presentation and was dropped from the side.
Shane Watson had to subsequently fly back for the birth of his daughter and Clarke and Arthur were heavily criticised.
2015 Win:
Shane Watson played an important role in Australia’s2015 World Cup win – Shane Watson scored 64 against Sri Lanka and 64 against Pakistan in the quarterfinals- who can forget that fiery battle between Wahab Riaz and him. Dodging those fast bouncers and ensuring to lead his team to victory.
T20 Franchise Cricket (IPL , PSL AND BBL)
Shane Watson Biography–IPL:
Rajasthan Royals:
Shane Watson represented the Rajasthan Royals in the inaugural Indian Premier League season in 2008 and was phenomenal both with the bat as well as the ball.
He was signed for $125,000 and got four man of the match awards during the initial 12 matches along with 17 wickets to help his side to victory and for the Man of the Tournament award for his contributions.
He benefitted greatly from his IPL performances for it established him cementing his opening slot in ODI series as he replaced the injured Matthew Hayden for the West Indies tour.
He scored his first T20 international century on 22nd April 2013 against the Chennai Super Kings at the MA CHIDAMBARAM Stadium of Bangalore. He scored six fours and six sixes to score the century off 61 balls and his rich form continued with him winning the Man of the Tournament Award. 2014 IPL season made Watson the highest paid overseas player in the league as the Rajasthan Royals retained him for an estimated $ 2 Million.
Royal challengers bangalore:
Rajasthan Royals were suspended for the 2016 IPL season and he was signed by the Royal Challengers Bangalore for a whopping US $1.4 million and was the most expensive in the auction.
He also captained the Challengers side in 2017 during the absence of Virat Kohli. He was signed by the Chennai Super King’s in 2018 and scored his third ton in the IPL against his former side on 20th April 2018 and helped the Kings win the match.
He was fantastic in the final against the Sunrisers Hyderabad scoring 117 from 57 balls and helped the Chennai Super Kings with title and won the man of the match award and has the highest strike rate throughout the tournament.
He almost repeated the feat in the next final against the Mumbai Indians as they just by just 1 run as he succumbed to a knee injury.
Other Franchises and Leagues:
Shane Watson played for the Hobart Hurricanes Canterbury, Sydney Thunder, Islamabad United, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals in BBL, PSL and IPL.
In IPL 2022, Shane Watson joined the Delhi capitals as an Assistant coach.
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