Watson opens up on stress after Hughes death
IN 2015, Shane Watson’s chance encounter with racing driver Will Power resulted in a trip to the US to meet the doctor who armed him with skills and unleashed performances in the twilight of his career.
“I played the most consistently successful and enjoyable cricket of my life in my mid to late 30s,” Watson writes in his book Winning the Inner Battle.
Tragedy encouraged him to discover what he now believes are the steps to the mindset and success in sport he craved.
After Phillip Hughes’ death, he battled demons, unable to tell his wife, coach or friends.
Power and Watson met at a rugby league awards night, and the driver told how his driving and life had been rocked by the death of good friend Dan Wheldon in an Indycar race in Las Vegas, 2011.
“It had broken him,” he wrote. “I immediately saw parallels between his experience, and the devastating effect on my generation of cricketers . . . of the death of one ours.
“I had found this extremely difficult to talk about, even to my wife. It had not only intensified the stress of my underperformance on the field, but eaten away at my life at home.”
Power had sought help from Jacques Dallaire in North
Carolina, and recommended Watson do the same. The meeting led to the book, which is an exposition of the mental side of sport and life.
It is sobering to reflect on the mental battles Watson and his teammates went through after the Hughes tragedy.
“Facing fast bowling was always one of my biggest strengths as a batter,” he writes. “I was totally fearless . . . After the tragic event fear came into my batting.”
Watson’s book is a simple self-help guide that draws on his experiences in cricket.
Winning the Inner Battle by Shane Watson is available at shanewatson.com.au