da premier bet： COLOMBO – If Shane Watson is feeling the pressure of being theall-rounder hope of Australian cricket, he isn’t showing it.
da aviator aposta： Michael Donaldson24-Sep-2002COLOMBO – If Shane Watson is feeling the pressure of being theall-rounder hope of Australian cricket, he isn’t showing it.The 22-year-old Queensland-born Tasmanian is set to be one ofAustralia’s key players in the Champions Trophy semi-final against SriLanka here on Friday, easily be the most intense match he’s played.After that there’s a summer at home and, if he continues his currentprogress, a spot at next year’s World Cup.So far he seems unfazed by what’s been asked of him and actually appearsto be thriving on the challenges.”I’m very happy with the way things have been going,” Watson said inColombo.”I’ve been working really hard to develop my one-day game andeverything’s going to plan at the moment.”Watson, 22, has improved as a bowler since he’s been on tour this seasonand he’s shown with the bat that he can smash quick runs as well andalso occupy the crease if necessary.”With my bowling I’ve been working on bowling smart to get my runs perover down, that’s my role – just tie it up and let other guys take thewickets,’ Watson said.With the bat, his biggest problem – if it can be called a problem – islearning to hit the ball in the air.As a natural no.4 batsman, Watson has spent his life playing thepercentages, keeping the ball on the deck and making technically correctscores.But as an all-rounder for Australia, he’s often required to blastboundaries off very few balls at the end of an innings.”Since I’ve been a little fella I’ve concentrated on not hitting theball in the air – that’s been a really important thing because the moreyou hit the ball in the air the higher chance you have of getting out.”That’s something I’ve had to develop – the confidence to hit over thetop and to pick the areas to hit.”So far, Watson appears to have achieved his goals.On this tour he’s only batted three times but has yet to get out. On theway he’s made a match-saving 77 not out off 113 balls to win the matchagainst Kenya in Nairobi while his other knocks have been 10 not out offsix balls against Pakistan in Nairobi and 19 not out off nine ballsagainst New Zealand here.In the bowling department, he’s taken six wickets in seven games sincethe start of this tour, while conceding only 3.09 runs per over.It all points to Watson being the man to finally nail Australia’stroublesome all-rounder spot, something Andrew Symonds and Ian Harveyhaven’t been able to do.”It is a very difficult role because you have be very flexible,” saidWatson.”You either have to come and do what Andrew Symonds or Ian Harvey can do- strike the ball very cleanly – but then there’s other times when yougo in at 5-60 and get the team out of trouble, that’s something I thinkI’m strongest at and I’m trying to develop my hitting to get balls tothe boundary.”Ian Harvey’s proven to be a great one-day bowler.”But I guess it’s the all-round package the team’s been looking for …hopefully I can become that genuine allrounder.”Australia resumed full training today after a break in the Maldives,while the tournament had a rest day mode ahead of Wednesday’s firstsemifinal between South Africa and India.
