Watson succumbs to injury

Australia’s trouble-cursed tour of South Africa has endured another significant setback with allrounder Shane Watson ruled out of the opening Test starting Wednesday with a calf injury.

Watson has been experiencing calf soreness since one of the squad’s initial training sessions upon arriving in Potchefstroom more than a week ago, and he has been unable to bowl since that time.

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On Friday, the official word from within the Australian team was that he was suffering from ‘calf tightness’ and while he was unlikely to bowl until shortly before the Test, he was not in doubt for the series opener.

But having batted during Australia’s centre-wicket training session at the Wanderers in Johannesburg yesterday, and showing no outward signs that he was struggling with the problem, Watson reported soreness in the right calf this morning.

He took no part in his team’s centre wicket and nets training sessions today, and team physiotherapist Alex Kountouris revealed that their plans to slowly get him right to bowl for the Test had been shelved and that the injury was such that Watson would be unable to play, even solely as a batsman.

“He batted yesterday and was fine, and we've been building up his intensity,” Kountouris said.

“Today we were trying to get him up to match level, and he struggled with that.

“He could feel it (so) we just don't think he he's going to be right for the first Test.

"We need a few more days now to let him recover and start up again.

“It's not a tear, but he has got an injury there.

“We've had a scan and it showed he's got a low-grade muscle injury that we've been managing.

"We were hopeful he'd recover, but it needed to be a little bit more advanced than what it is at the moment.

"He was very disappointed obviously, as we all are.

“We were very happy we got everyone through the past Ashes, and Watto himself hasn't missed a game (due to injury) for a very long time.

"It's disappointing, but it's part of the game."

With Watson sidelined, Tasmanian batsman Alex Doolan is all-but assured of making his Test debut at Centurion as his country’s new number three.

Debate had centred on whether Doolan would slot into the team to replaces the axed George Bailey at number six or if Watson would slip down the order instead.

Now that Watson has slipped out of the team for the first Test at least – medical staff remain hopeful he will be able to be considered for the second Test in Port Elizabeth despite there being only a three-day break between matches – the speculation now shifts to the allrounder role.

“Our first priority is to try and get him (Watson) back as a batter, give the selectors that option,” Kountouris said.

“Getting him fit to bowl will be more challenging.”

The fact that Australian coach Darren Lehmann has previously indicated his strong preference for always taking five bowlers into a Test match, the way would seem paved for NSW allrounder Moises Henriques to make an unlikely return to Test cricket.

Henriques was not included in the original 15-man touring party for South Africa, but was a late addition when auxiliary all-rounder James Faulkner was forced to undergo knee surgery.

The prospect of a green, seaming pitch at Centurion will heighten Australia’s reliance on pace bowlers, with spinner Nathan Lyon a chance to miss out due to the fact the conditions are unlikely to be conducive to spin.

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However, the sudden change of plans brought about by Watson’s injury coupled with the fact that batting is likely to be tough on the Centurion deck might convince the selectors to jettison a bowler completely and bat Phil Hughes – who top scored in yesterday’s trial match – at number six instead.

The Watson injury is the latest in a series of ill fortunes to plague the Australian team since it arrived – even prior to arriving – on South African soil.

Following the late changes to personnel forced upon them by injury, the tourists have seen rain in Potchefstroom wreck their training plans and lead to the abandonment of their proposed warm-up match against a South African Invitational XI.

The team then hurriedly relocated to Johannesburg, only to find practice facilities at Centurion under-prepared due to the wet weather.

And the hurriedly-organised scratch match at Wanderers was played yesterday on the same pitch that the South Africans had utilised for their warm-up fixture on the preceding three days, and its worn nature made conditions tough for batsmen to get any meaningful practice.

The ray of sunshine for the tourists is precisely that – good weather has been forecast on the Highveld for the remaining three days leading into the first Test.