Friday 26 / April / 2024
Shane Watson spoke his heart out on a one to chat with him during a visit to my home. He was very very happy that Australia won their first T20 title in the seventh edition of the T20 World cup in Dubai and feels the template has now been set by team for the upcoming T20 World Cup which incidentally will be in hosted by Australia and they will surely start as favorites as know the conditions well and will be ready for it.
He credited the turnaround in David Warner coming in to form at the right time after the initial loss to England scoring 289 runs at a whopping strike rate of 147 which set the platform for the other players to follow. He was also very happy for Mitchell Marsh who batted at number three to score 185 at a strike rate of 147. He was highly impressed with Adam Zampa who picked up 13 wickets and bowled at economy less than 6 taking key wickets and also with the form of Josh Hazelwood who picked up 11 wickets.
When I asked him what separated this team from the other World Cup teams in the past who could not win, Watson said peaking at the right time, playing as one unit and most importantly Aaron Finch winning the important tosses were the key in Australia winning their first title. And he believed this would be beginning of many more titles in the shorter format for team Australia.
Watson then spoke about his first stint about doing live commentary which he enjoyed thoroughly and believed since he had played more than 300 games in the T20 format it was easy for him to analyze the game as he could put himself in the match circumstances and give his opinion. He got to learn a lot from Ian Bishop as a commentator, the energy what he has rubbed on him too.
Most importantly when I asked him if he would take up the role of a coach now that he has retired as a player, he said it would be challenging as coaching is a different cup of tea and would first like to start as an assistant to learn the tricks of the trade and then the full plunge of being a proper coach. His idol is Stephen Fleming under whom he played the IPL for CSK and he says the secret of being a good coach is to keep your emotions in check and Stephen Fleming is a master at it.
Lastly when I asked him how would the Ashes series go for team Australia, he was confident they would win the Ashes 3/1 against an England team which has not got enough experience and will find it tough against the Aussies. He was wary of Ben Stokes in the England side and the impact he would add to the team but Australia had enough experience and fire power to beat England in their home conditions.
I had seen Shame Watson on the field as a fighter who gave his all when playing for team Australia but meeting him in person and sharing anecdotes was a dream come true for me.
