Shane Watson: Primed for huge summer of cricket

Shane Watson

Sydney, Oct 21 (IANS) Australian all-rounder Shane Watson on Tuesday said after battling five months with a calf injury he is now primed for a huge summer of international cricket. Watson will make his international return following a long absence against South Africa in a Twenty20 (T20) international on November 5 at the Adelaide Oval.

The match kicks off a lengthy international schedule for Australia running until late March, extending through a five-match One-Day International (ODI) series with the Proteas, a four-Test series against India, a triangular ODI series involving India and England, and finally the 2015 World Cup at home.

It is an arduous schedule and Watson says he is very well prepared, despite struggling often during his career with injury.

"I have had time to freshen up and it has made me very excited to be playing again," Watson, was quoted as saying by The Australian newspaper on Tuesday.

"I had a really big day at training yesterday as well as bowling off my long run, so it has been a really good build-up over the last couple of weeks.

"To be able to start with T20 cricket and lead into the other forms is a nice way to be able to build up my endurance over the next couple of weeks and couple of months leading into the summer."

Watson said the rest should have him firing at the high points of the summer, including the World Cup.

"I am very fresh at the moment, this certainly is a very long summer," he said.

"I haven't played any cricket up until this point so I will be fresh going into the time when I am going to have to make the most of my freshness especially at the back end of the summer, towards the back end of the World Cup.

"The most important thing is to be performing over the next couple of months to give myself a chance to stay in the summer for the whole time."