Howard takes responsibility for http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Watson-c96326’s injury – Cricket News Update
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/SR-Watson-c2558 just days before the team’s Test opener against the Proteas.
The 31-year-old has been ruled out for the clash after he picked up a calf injury while playing for New South Wales in the Sheffield Shield competition. The injury is not as bad as the one which the player sustained last year, which ruled him out of the entire Test summer against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750.
Nonetheless, his absence will be a major blow as the all-rounder has been in sparkling form in the recent months. He claimed four consecutive Man of the Match awards in last month’s World T20, which culminated in him being named as the Player of the Tournament.
However, commitments for his club franchise, Sydney Sixers, ensured that the all-rounder carried added workload, while other national Test players remained home to prepare for a tough home summer. His Champions League T20 stint was eventually cut short by Howard, who wanted the player to take part in the four-day cricket for http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-South-Wales-c823.
However, that added load took a toll on Watson, whose career has already been dogged with several injuries in the past. His latest injury has hampered team’s preparation, which will now have to do without his all-round prowess for at least the first Test, which starts on Friday.
Howard earlier hinted at the possibility of using Watson as a specialist batsman but that will only stop the player from getting fully fit for the subsequent bouts. He therefore, takes full blame of the current situation.
"We knew that we needed to lighten his load, and probably we needed to lighten it a little bit more than we did. It's a balancing act, it's always a balancing act. It was well publicised the moves we made earlier and, obviously, we tried to get in the position to give him the best opportunity to prepare but also give his body a rest. It possibly wasn't enough and I take responsibility for that," Howard said.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Rob-Quiney-c2340 has been named as Watson’s replacement for the Gabba Test.
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