Cricket: Shane Watson got through injuries with the help of music
Australian all-rounder Shane Watson has transformed his fortunes. After two successful seasons in international cricket, which has seen him rise from the depths of misery due to one injury after another into a formidable all-rounder who is a vital cog in the Aussie armoury in all formats of the game.
He is touring England with the Australian team, for a series of one-day, T20 matches and two tests against Pakistan that will take place in Lords and Headingley.
During his off-days in the country the flamboyant all-rounder Shane Watson visits London blues clubs and sates his passion for 1960s British rock.
Watson affectionately known as “Watto” hails from Queensland. He looks like a strapping athlete with his powerful build, long, blonde hair. Reminding one of a dedicated surfer yet he is an improbable blues aficionado.
Since his test debut he has had many crippling injuries that have thwarted his growth as an international all-rounder of pedigree.
He turned to music and the blues in particular during his painfully long and tiring road to recovery and rehabilitation.
"During some of the crazy things during my cricket career, music has been the thing that has taken me away", Watson explained to reporters in a recent press briefing in London.
He added that music was a real source of inspiration and played a big part in holding him together. He claims that music was something that kept him going during his tough times when he kept getting injured every now and then, he thinks that it was music and the guitar in particular that kept him going.
His career has borne the brunt of the injuries. He started out as a fast medium bowler who had the ability to unsettle the batsman with sharp bouncers and yorkers aimed at batsmen’s toes.
However, in recent months Watson's medium-fast deliveries seemed laboured and his action is not fluent any more, as it is evident that the spate of injuries have had a big affect on his fragile body.
With the bat he looks at his fluent best. He is a naturally clean striker of the ball and has made the opening spot his very own after a string of impressive scores including a maiden test hundred against Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket ground last year.
He was asked to open last year, after the continued failure of Phil Hughes at the top of the innings. The move was an instant success with the all-rounder using his sound technique to overcome the challenges posed by the new ball.
He scored 62 and 53 at Edgbaston, 51 at Old Trafford followed by 34 and 40 in the final test of the series in Oval.
"I got the opportunity in the Ashes last year to see how good I could become as a top-order batsman and things have been going really well," said Watson. "So it's taken a bit of pressure off my bowling and also my body as well. I don't have to push my body as hard as when I was trying to make it primarily as a bowler”.
The Queenslander added that he also had to tweak his training technique, in order to play continuously at the top level; he calls his new approach smart training.
He claims that he used to over train some years ago, but now the most important thing for him is to stay mentally fit and not drain himself out in the gym.
Before the start of the one-day series against the Englishmen Watson had struck 34 sixes in all forms of international cricket in 2010, more than any other batsman.
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