Allrounder describes past week as the most difficult of his career
Players are battling inner demons: Watson
Shane Watson is batting with apprehension and battling inner demons, but the allrounder is confident he will play the first Commonwealth Bank Test, beginning Tuesday.
Watson was in the field for NSW when Phillip Hughes was struck by a bouncer at the SCG, a traumatic event for cricketers around Australia.
The 33-year-old has slowly turned his attention to the rescheduled four-Test series against India after attending Hughes' funeral on Wednesday.
It hasn't been easy.
"I'm getting there," Watson said on Sunday.
"It's been the most challenging, mentally, couple of days I've had to go through in my career.
"Trying to process everything that happened, especially being there at the SCG.
"But there's no doubt I'll be ready to go on Tuesday."
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Watson was likewise confident his 10 teammates would find a way to take the field.
"Everyone's progressing well," he said.
"Some guys are a bit more affected than others, but every session we were out there you can see everyone starting to gradually find their feet and getting back to what we love doing.
"There's a lot of inner demons we've had to find our way through.
"But no doubt from the Test perspective, once we get out there in front of a great crowd … everyone's competitive juices will be up and running."
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Watson felt he would be ready to face a bouncer barrage on Tuesday, but admitted he was full of doubts when batting for the first time since Hughes's tragic passing.
"There was initially (apprehension), there's no question," he said.
"Every day I've gone to bat I've got more comfortable with it … reacting to what I see and trusting my skill."
Friday was Australia's first training session together since they were in Macksville for Hughes's service.
The 13-man squad trained again on Saturday and Sunday, with Watson saying it has been "helpful but tough".
"It's a step-by-step process,” he said. “Every day I've trained I've got more comfortable."