Shane Watson wins Australia’s ODI player of the year award
Australia have named their star all-rounder Shane Watson as the country’s best player in One Day International cricket (ODI) for the second consecutive year. Watson was also close to becoming this year’s Twenty20 player of the year but was edged out by team-mate
David Hussey, who received the award.
Watson faced stiff competition from Michael Clarke, who was just one vote short of becoming the ODI player of the year. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Watson-c96326’s 16.
The recent form of both players may have played a crucial part in determining the ODI player of the year. Watson has been in terrific form in the recent past and has scored runs consistently during the last few series.
The flamboyant all-rounder played a vital role for his team in the ODI series against England, which http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 won 6-1. Watson had set the tone for the Kangaroos after his massive 161-run innings in the first match of the series.
Apart from his batting, Watson has also been a very handy bowler throughout last year. He has chipped in with wickets at crucial stages of games and has offered good support to his lead bowlers.
Watson was the top-scorer for Australia with 858 runs last year and became the third-highest wicket-taker for his team with 20 wickets.
Apart from his performances, Watson proved that he was one of the fittest members of the Australian team. The Kangaroos had many injury problems in 2010 but Watson consistently represented his team in every format.
Clarke could have been the winner of this year’s award but his form in recent times wasn’t good. He struggled throughout the Ashes tour and scored just a lone half-century.
The ODIs also proved to be disappointing for Clarke as he failed to score runs in the early matches. However, he returned to form in the last two matches he played, scoring back-to-back half-centuries for his team.
David Hussey was named Australia’s best Twenty20 player after notching up 346 runs and nine wickets for his team in the shortest version of the game.
The awards will be a good motivation for the players and they will head into the World Cup with greater confidence.
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