Watson is hoping to see an increase in his number of overs

Australia all-rounder Shane Watson believes that captain Michael Clarke should be allowing him to bowl more overs, especially after the performances he had with the ball during the three-Test series against South Africa and Sri Lanka.

Watson’s number of overs have seen a decline ever since he played the third Test against the Proteas at Perth due to Cricket Australia and the national selectors becoming increasingly concerned with his fitness after the was ruled out for the first two Tests against South Africa with a calf injury, which resurfaced once again during the final Test against Sri Lanka at Sydney.

Watson has also been moved down to number four on the batting lineup and hopes that he will be able to convince Clarke and the rest of the team management to allow him to bowl a few more overs.

“Mickey Arthur talked to me at the end of the last Test to say the way it was looking, they were going to move me down to four,” Watson said. “It’s taken me a few days to get my head around that, but it means I can bowl a few more overs.

“In the last Test match, I know Michael in the second innings was a bit hesitant to bowl me a few times towards the latter part of their innings, just to give me the chance to be as fresh as I could going into bat. The ultimate is to be able to contribute with both bat and ball throughout the whole Test match and not be held back. Batting at four will give me that extra time to freshen up.”