Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
“Watto is hitting the ball as good as I’ve seen”
Australia captain Michael Clarke has lavished praise on all-rounder Shane Watson, stating that he “put the team first” when scoring his magnificent century during the third Test in Perth as he was thinking about setting England a massive target instead of bolstering his own stats.
Clarke’s praise for Watson is a welcome change of heart as the Australian captain had called the all-rounder a “cancer” on the team earlier this year.
“I think he played really well the other day,” Clarke said. “It’s obviously a tough position, there’s no doubt about it, and he’s scored two hundreds there now in his last few Test matches. Watto is hitting the ball as good as I’ve seen and wasn’t too far away from big scores. So thankfully he walked out and played that way and showed great intent.
“What Watto did the other day was put the team first. He knew we were trying to score as many runs as we could before our declaration and he put the team first, which is a great example to the young players that that’s what we’re trying to do in our team and it’s good to see.”
While head coach Darren Lehmann and fast bowling coach Craig McDermott are enjoying being lauded by everyone, Clarke believes the team’s physiotherapist, Alex Kountouris, and doctor, Peter Brukner, deserve just as much credit.
Kountouris has worked feverishly at times to help Clarke get over bouts of his chronic back problems, while Brukner played a pivotal role in ensuring Watson was ready for the Ashes series after he injured his hamstring in India.
“It’s all contributed, there’s no doubt about it,” Clarke said. “There’s a lot of people who have played a part behind the scenes who don’t receive too much credit, and bits and pieces of that all through Cricket Australia. So a lot of things have played a part in us performing the way we have and that’s one of them.
“Without Alex’s help, I wouldn’t have played as many Tests as I have, so I try to thank him as much as I can. Lots of guys in the team that are exactly the same. Him and the doc Peter have done a fantastic job in looking after the current crop in making sure we’re as fit as we can be leading up and getting through Test matches. There’s two more Tests to go this summer so hopefully they can continue to do their good work.”
When asked if he had spoken to former head coach Mickey Arthur about the team’s Ashes triumph, Clarke said: “No, I haven’t spoken to Mickey.”