I love the freedom my fickle mistress gives me – Watson
IN DURBAN SHANE Watson believes T20 cricket is a fickle mistress: “you either end the match thinking you’re a half-decent cricketer, or you’ve had a shocker,” the Aussie all-rounder said at Kingsmead yesterday ahead of today’s second T20 international.
He loves it, because “it brings out the freedom in my game ... I go out there and trust my natural talent and see where I end up”.
At the same time, he believes the current Aussie squad are so good that it offers them a kind of insurance against defeat.
“We’ve got the most balanced side that I’ve ever been involved with. We really do have serious firepower consistently down the batting order, until maybe No 10. Bowling wise, we’ve got so many options, from high-quality opening bowlers to death bowlers, as well as high-quality spinners.
“The versatility of the squad, in all conditions against any opposition, means that we can match up pretty well all the time. T20 cricket certainly is fickle, but if you’ve got a lot of match-winners, you’ve got more chance for one or two of them to have a big day and win you the game.”
The 32-year-old, who played in the final Test against South Africa at Newlands last week, is one of only three members of that squad – the others are David Warner and Brad Haddin – who have made the cross-over to the T20 side.
Impressed as he was by his own team, “Watto” was prepared to concede that SA had one or two stars of their own. He described AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli as “the best batsmen across all formats of the game” and said that David Miller “can take a game away from you very quickly”.
Add to that list Dale Steyn (“the greatest fast bowler in the world”) and Morné Morkel (“in the right conditions when he’s on, he can make life very difficult for you”), and it’s clear that – weather permitting – the two teams could provide excellent entertainment at Kingsmead today.
Like South Africa captain Faf du Plessis, Watson is particularly keen for his team to get some game time under their belts this week before the upcoming ICC World Twenty20 in Bangladesh. “The more cricket you play as a group, the better prepared you’re going to be going into such a big tournament.”