Image courtesy of: ABC
Watson is smiling once again after having been handed his opening spot back
Australia all-rounder Shane Watson has dismissed rumours and speculation that he encouraged Cricket Australia and then coach Mickey Arthur to impose a harsher punishment on opening batsman David Warner after he punched England’s Joe Root at the Walkabout bar in Birmingham during the recently concluded Champions Trophy.
Warner’s Rocky-style antics earned him a suspension till the start of the Ashes and he was also fined A$11,500 by Cricket Australia.
However, Watson himself has been in the media limelight recently as he was one of four players axed for the third Test against India at Mohali after failing to complete a homework assignment set by Arthur.
Watson described that incident as a “dangerous precedent” and also revealed that newly appointed head coach Darren Lehmann has already calmed tensions within the camp.
The all-rounder also admitted to “not having much fun” during the Arthur regime.
During the Warner controversy, Watson noted that he had never spoken publicly about calling on Cricket Australia and Arthur to impose a harsher punishment on the opening batsman, but as soon as Lehmann took over, Watson quickly broke his silence and denied playing any role whatsoever in trying to get Warner suspended for a longer period of time.
“Absolutely not,” Watson said. “In the end the coaching staff and Mickey and the leadership group found out about Dave’s incident off their own bat. It had absolutely nothing to do with me in any way shape or form and I’m not sure why that was brought out in the media because it certainly wasn’t the truth.
“They obviously found out, there were some people who were in and around the incident at the time who had relayed the information, so it certainly had nothing to do with me. The precedent that was set through Mohali was quite a dangerous precedent, there’s no doubt about that. But in the end this is now a new group, a new leadership group, new team dynamics obviously with Darren coming in, so I’m not looking back any more at the things that happened in the past.
“This is a change for all of us which is a very good thing. I’m not looking back at what happened in the last few months, I’m just excited about what we’re doing now as a group and what Darren is going to bring to our team.”
Lehmann’s arrival has brought a smile back to the face of Watson, with the main reason being attributed to the fact that the 43-year-old believes Watson should be opening the batting.
Watson was also quick to admit that Australia would be a lot more fearless under Lehmann, who has already encouraged all the batsmen and bowlers in the side to hit England with everything they have got throughout the Ashes series.
“The way Darren operates is a more light-hearted way,” Watson said. “He played the game for the enjoyment and as a coach one of the big things he instils in the group is to make sure we are having fun. There were certainly times after Mohali that I wasn’t having that much fun, and that is something Darren has ensured, that things are little bit less tense and more about enjoying the absolute privilege of playing cricket for Australia.
“It should be the time of our life, it’s a dream come true, and that is something Darren has instilled. Darren’s perspective on the game is to go out and back your talent and not worry about failing at all, that’s going to be part of the game of cricket. Things in that regard will change because that is how Darren played. He will make sure everyone does that with bat or ball, that people aren’t worried about failing, more so about showing how good they are.”