Shane Watson

1.1. Childhood and Education

Shane Robert Watson was born on 17 June 1981, in Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. For his primary education, he attended St Marys Primary School before moving on to Ipswich Grammar School. He developed an early passion for cricket and began playing at a young age.

1.2. Junior and State Team Career

Watson's junior cricket career saw him represent Queensland Primary Schools in an interstate championship held in Darwin, Northern Territory in 1993. He started playing club cricket in Ipswich for the local Brothers club, subsequently moving to Brisbane Grade Cricket where he played for Eastern Suburbs. He represented Queensland at both the under-17s level (in the 1996-1997 season) and the under-19s level (in the 1997-1998, 1998-1999, and 1999-2000 seasons). His talent at the youth level also earned him a spot representing Australia in the 2000 Under-19 Cricket World Cup.

In 2000, Watson was a scholarship holder at the Australian Cricket Academy (AIS). A rule change at the academy that year allowed players to become free agents rather than being tied to their home states. Watson opted to move to Hobart, Tasmania, where he was assured an immediate place in the Tasmanian state team. He played for Tasmania during the latter half of the 2000-01 Sheffield Shield season. He quickly progressed in the batting order, starting at number 7 on his debut and moving up to number 4 by the end of the season. In just half a season, he scored 309 runs at an average of 51.50, which included his maiden first-class century in his fifth match. He also contributed with the ball, taking 11 wickets at an average of 26.27. Following this successful season, he signed a three-year contract with Tasmania.

In April 2004, Watson made a domestic team switch, returning to his home state to play for Queensland. He also signed a contract with Hampshire to play county cricket in England in 2004, joining as a replacement player during periods when Hampshire's main international players were on Australian duty. He later played for the New South Wales from the 2010-2011 to the 2015-2016 seasons.

2.1. Early Years (2002-2009)

Watson first received a call-up to the Australia national cricket team in early 2002 for a Test tour of South Africa. His selection was based on his strong performance in the Pura Cup, where he topped the wicket-taking charts for Tasmania alongside consistent middle-order batting. During the tour, he impressed in a warm-up match against the South Africa A side, scoring a rapid century off 96 deliveries and taking three wickets. He made his ODI debut during the same tour, replacing Steve Waugh in the squad.

Watson maintained his position as a regular member of the ODI team until early 2003 when he suffered three stress fractures in his back, an injury that forced him to miss the 2003 Cricket World Cup. Upon his return to cricket, he was initially only able to bat while he completed his recovery.

In January 2005, Watson made his Test debut in the third Test of Australia's home series against Pakistan at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). He was included as Australia's fifth bowler, allowing the team to play a combination of three fast bowlers (including Watson) and two spin bowlers on a dry pitch. Later in 2005, during Australia's tour of England, Watson was part of the ODI squad. The team stayed at Lumley Castle in County Durham, which is rumored to be haunted; Watson was reportedly "spooked out" by his room and chose to sleep on the floor of teammate Brett Lee's room. Following the 2005 Ashes series, Australian selectors continued to feature Watson as the fifth bowler and all-rounder in Test matches, including against the ICC World XI. However, his tenure was cut short when he dislocated his shoulder while fielding in only his second Test in this designated role against the West Indies, ruling him out for the remainder of the summer.

Watson's fortunes shifted when he began opening the batting for Australia in the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy, partnering Adam Gilchrist. After a slow start in the first two matches against the West Indies and England, he scored a crucial 50 against India to secure Australia's semi-final spot. In the final, he played a match-winning innings of 57 not out and took two wickets to seal Australia's victory, scoring the winning run. He repeated his prominent role in the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa, where he scored consecutive centuries against England in the semi-final and New Zealand in the final, helping Australia defend their title with a winning six in the final.

Watson was included in the squad for the 2006-07 Ashes series against England, but a suspected hamstring tear suffered in a domestic one-day game just before the first Test ruled him out of the first three Tests. Another injury setback in a match for Queensland subsequently ruled him out for the remainder of the Ashes series. He returned to the ODI side in February but suffered another injury during the 2007 Cricket World Cup, missing two Super 8 matches before returning with an unbeaten 65 runs off 32 balls against New Zealand. Injury continued to plague him in the early stages of the 2007 ICC World Twenty20, forcing him to miss most of the tournament due to a hamstring strain, and he was out of action for the entire 2007-08 Australian season.

After Andrew Symonds was dropped from the Australian team for disciplinary reasons, Watson took over the all-rounder's position for the tour of India in late 2008, batting at number 6. During the third Test in Delhi, he engaged in confrontations with Indian opener Gautam Gambhir. Following his return to Australia, Symonds was recalled, leading to both all-rounders playing in the first Test against New Zealand. Watson was subsequently dropped to make way for spinner Nathan Hauritz. At the end of 2008, Watson suffered another stress fracture in his back. He returned to international duty in the ODI series against Pakistan in the UAE, where he scored a century.

He rejoined the Australian Test side as an opener for the third Ashes Test at Edgbaston on 30 July 2009. In a rain-affected match, he scored 62 and 53, batting alongside Simon Katich. He achieved his second-highest Test score of 96 against the West Indies in the second Test in Adelaide in December 2009; he had reached 96 at stumps but was dismissed by an inside edge on his first ball the next morning while attempting a boundary for his century. In the third Test, he made 89 in another century partnership with Katich. In the second innings, he aggressively celebrated the dismissal of opposition captain Chris Gayle, earning him a fine from the match referee.

In the first Test against Pakistan on Boxing Day, he scored 93 runs and contributed to his third consecutive century partnership with Katich, but was run out after a mix-up. On Day four, Watson finally reached his maiden Test century, scoring 120 not out before Ricky Ponting declared the innings. He was awarded man of the match on 30 December for his performance in Australia's Test victory. In the second innings of the second Test at the SCG, Watson narrowly missed another century, dismissed for 97. During this Test, the Australian Cricket Media Association presented Watson with the Australian Cricketer of the Year Award.

2.2. Peak Performance and Vice-Captaincy (2010-2014)

This period marked a significant peak in Shane Watson's career, highlighted by numerous individual accolades, consistent high-level performances, and his appointment as Australia's vice-captain.

In the first Test of Australia's 2010 tour of India, Watson scored his second Test century, a patient 126 runs off 338 balls on a slow pitch in Mohali. This innings followed an excellent start to the tour, as he had also scored a century in each innings of the warm-up match. He again top-scored in the second innings with a brisk 56 runs, which proved crucial in setting a competitive target. During his time as an opener, Watson recorded the highest Australian Test batting average (50.40) for two consecutive calendar years (2009-2010).

On 30 March 2011, Watson was appointed Australia's Test and ODI vice-captain. On 11 April 2011, he produced a remarkable innings of 185 not out off 96 balls against Bangladesh. In this innings, Watson set several records, including the most sixes hit in an ODI innings (15), the highest individual score by an Australian batsman in ODIs, the fastest 150 runs, and the most runs scored from boundaries in an ODI innings. His score was also the highest individual score while chasing in an ODI and the highest score in the second innings of an ODI match, a record he held until it was surpassed by Fakhar Zaman in April 2021.

Between 2010 and 2013, Watson received a series of Australian "Player of the Year" awards, including the prestigious Allan Border Medal in both 2010 and 2011.

Ahead of the 2012 ICC World Twenty20, Australia was ranked only 10th in the world. However, after two stages of the tournament, Australia climbed four places to sixth, becoming one of the favorites to win. This drastic improvement was largely attributed to Shane Watson's exceptional form. In the opening match against Ireland in Colombo, Watson took 3 wickets for 26 runs and then scored 51 runs off 30 balls, earning him the Man of the Match award. Against the West Indies, he again opened the bowling and batting, taking 2 wickets for 29 runs and scoring 41 not out off 24 balls to secure another Man of the Match award. Against India, he took 3 wickets for 34 runs, including the crucial wickets of Yuvraj Singh and Irfan Pathan, and then blasted 72 runs off 42 balls (including 7 sixes). His dominant performances continued against South Africa, taking 2 wickets for 29 runs and scoring 70 runs off 47 balls, earning him his fourth consecutive Man of the Match award. By the end of the group stages and Super Eight stages, Watson led the tournament in runs, wickets, and sixes, making him the unanimous choice for Player of the Tournament.

Watson was part of Australia's team for their 2013 Test series in India. After heavy defeats in the first two Tests, coach Mickey Arthur requested individual presentations from the players regarding the team's failures. Watson, along with Mitchell Johnson, James Pattinson, and Usman Khawaja, failed to comply and were consequently dropped for the third Test. Watson, whose wife was pregnant at the time, left India to return home for the birth of their child, a contingency that had been pre-arranged. He later returned for the final match of the series and captained the team in the absence of an injured Michael Clarke. Australia lost the match, and the series ended in a 4-0 defeat, with Watson's batting performance contributing to the team's struggles.

Following the series in India, Australia played back-to-back Ashes series in the 2013 English summer and the 2013-14 Australian summer, with Watson consistently batting at number 3.

2.3. World Cup Victories and International Retirement (2015-2016)

This period saw Shane Watson contribute to a significant World Cup victory and ultimately conclude his distinguished international career.

Shane Watson was selected as a member of Australia's 15-man squad for the 2015 Cricket World Cup on 11 January 2015. He played in all but one of Australia's matches as they went on to win the tournament. He experienced a challenging start to his World Cup campaign, being dismissed for a first-ball duck against England in Australia's opening match and scoring 23 runs against New Zealand in a losing effort. Due to his poor form, Watson was dropped for the match against Afghanistan and replaced by James Faulkner. However, he was reinstated for Australia's next match against Sri Lanka, where he scored a crucial 67 runs off 41 balls and took 1 wicket for 71 runs as Australia won by 64 runs. In Australia's final group stage match against Scotland, Watson scored 24 runs off 23 balls and took 1 wicket for 18 runs, contributing to Australia's 7-wicket victory and qualification for the knockout stage.

In Australia's quarter-final match against Pakistan, Watson faced a challenging bowling spell from Wahab Riaz, which garnered widespread praise from cricketers. After being dropped by Rahat Ali at square leg when he was on 4 runs, Watson went on to score an unbeaten 64 runs off 66 balls, helping Australia secure a 6-wicket victory with 97 balls to spare. Watson also played in Australia's 95-run semi-final victory over India, scoring 28 runs off 30 balls. In the 2015 Cricket World Cup Final, he scored 2 not out as Australia defeated New Zealand by 7 wickets, claiming their fifth Cricket World Cup title.

Watson was part of Australia's squad for their 2015 tour of England, which included the 2015 Ashes series. He played in the first Test match in Cardiff but had a disappointing performance with both bat and ball, leading to his exclusion from the team for the remainder of the series. Subsequently, during the ODI series against England, Watson sustained a calf injury that ended his tour. Following this injury, he decided to retire from Test cricket in September 2015, with the intention of continuing to play in the shorter ODI and T20I formats.

On 31 January 2016, Watson was named T20I captain for Australia, making him one of the few Australians to captain in all three formats. In this role, he opened the innings after a long hiatus and scored a remarkable 124 not out, setting several records. This innings made him the first Australian batsman to score a century in all three formats of the game.

Watson played his final international tournament for Australia in the 2016 World Twenty20 in India in March 2016. Partway through the tournament, on 24 March, exactly 14 years after his international debut, Watson announced his retirement from all international cricket at the conclusion of the tournament. He was the last remaining Australian player from the dominant Australian era of the early 2000s, having debuted before the retirements of key figures like Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath in 2007. His final international match was Australia's loss to India in their last group match, which resulted in their elimination from the tournament.

3.1. Indian Premier League (IPL)

Shane Watson was a prominent figure in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for many years. He played for Rajasthan Royals in seven of the first eight IPL seasons, joining the team for the inaugural season in 2008. He was recognized as the Player of the Tournament during that debut season, though he missed the second season due to international commitments. In 2013, he scored his first Twenty20 century, hitting 101 runs from 61 balls with six fours and six sixes against Chennai Super Kings. He once again earned the Player of the Tournament award in 2013. In 2014, he captained the Rajasthan Royals and was notably the highest-paid overseas player in the league.

In 2016, following Rajasthan's two-year suspension from the competition, Watson entered the IPL auction for the first time since 2008. He was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore for 1.96 M AUD, the highest price for any Australian player that year. He served as captain for some matches during the 2017 season. For the following season, he was signed by Chennai Super Kings. He continued his strong batting form, scoring his third and fourth IPL centuries during the 2018 season, and remained with the team in 2019.

In 2019, Watson was Chennai's leading run-scorer, accumulating 398 runs across 17 matches. Chennai reached the 2019 Indian Premier League final. In the final against the Mumbai Indians, who had scored 149 runs batting first, Watson top-scored for Chennai with 80 runs off 59 balls. His innings took the match to the final over, but he was run out, and Chennai finished their innings on 148 runs, losing the final by a single run. Following the match, a photograph shared by his teammate Harbhajan Singh on Instagram revealed Watson's pant leg soaked with blood. Singh confirmed that Watson had sustained an injury while diving but continued to bat without informing anyone, requiring six stitches after the game.

Watson played his final IPL season in 2020 for Chennai. On 2 November 2020, he announced his retirement from all forms of professional cricket. Following his playing retirement, Watson joined Delhi Capitals as an assistant coach for the 2022 IPL season.

3.2. Other Leagues

Watson also played in several other major T20 leagues around the world. He joined the Australian Big Bash League franchise Sydney Thunder in 2015 and was a key member of the team that won the BBL title in the 2015-2016 season. He also served as the team's captain. He continued to play for the Sydney Thunder until the end of the 2018-2019 season. Earlier in his Big Bash League career, he also had a brief stint with the Sydney Sixers during the 2012-2013 season. During the 2018-2019 BBL season, Watson scored his maiden BBL century against the Brisbane Heat. This achievement made him the first Australian player to score a century in the BBL, the IPL, and in T20I cricket.

In 2016, Watson was announced as one of the icon players for the inaugural season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL). He initially played for Islamabad United before moving to Quetta Gladiators in subsequent seasons. In October 2023, Quetta Gladiators appointed Shane Watson as their Head Coach for the PSL 9 season. The same year, he was also a marquee player in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), playing in the league for two seasons.

5.1. International Centuries

Shane Watson scored a total of 14 centuries in international cricket: four in Test matches, nine in One Day Internationals, and one in a Twenty20 International. When he scored his maiden Twenty20 International century in 2016, he became the 10th player in history to score a century in all three formats of the game, and the first Australian to achieve this feat.

5.2. Major Awards and Honours

Throughout his career, Shane Watson received numerous individual awards and accolades for his performances. He was named the Player of the Match on 29 occasions across all three formats of international cricket, and Player of the Series on 7 occasions. The majority of these awards came in One Day International cricket, where he won 17 Player of the Match awards and 4 Player of the Series awards.

Cricket Australia holds an annual awards ceremony called the Australian Cricket Awards, with the most prestigious award being the Allan Border Medal, presented to "the most outstanding Australian male cricketer of the season". Watson won the Allan Border Medal twice, in 2010 and 2011. He also received several other honors at the Australian Cricket Awards:

• Test Player of the Year: 2011
• Men's ODI Player of the Year: 2010, 2011, 2012
• Men's T20I Player of the Year: 2012, 2013, 2017
• Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year: 2002
• ICC Men's ODI Team of the Year: 2010, 2011, 2012

He was also named the Player of the Tournament in the 2012 ICC World Twenty20.

5.3. Notable Records

Shane Watson's performances with both bat and ball allowed him to set several notable records during his international career.

• In an ODI against Bangladesh in April 2011, Watson scored 185 runs off 96 deliveries. In this innings, he struck 15 sixes, which at the time was the most in any ODI innings and as of January 2023 remains the sixth-most. He also scored 150 runs solely from boundaries, which was the most in any ODI innings at the time and as of January 2023 remains the fourth-most.
• In a Test match against South Africa in November 2011, Watson achieved bowling figures of 5 wickets for 17 runs from 5 overs. Taking a wicket every 6 balls, this represents the eighth-best bowling strike rate in any Test innings with four or more wickets taken, as of January 2023.
• In a Twenty20 International against India in January 2016, Watson scored 124 runs from 71 deliveries. At the time, this was the second-highest score in any Twenty20 International (currently the 10th-highest as of January 2023) and the highest score by a captain (currently the third-highest as of January 2023). Australia ultimately lost this match by 7 wickets, making Watson's innings the highest score by a player in a losing side in T20I cricket as of January 2023. At the time, this was also the longest innings in a Twenty20 International by number of balls faced, and it remains the fourth-longest as of January 2023.