Australia will not rush Watson
February 21, 2012 16:21:00 UK
Australia's chief selector John Inverarity has said that all-rounder Shane Watson won't be rushed back into action ahead of schedule as they want to be extremely cautious with his return.
Watson had been missing at the highest stage of cricket for four months due to a series of hamstring and calf problems, but he was chosen in Australia's ODI squad for the rest of the Commonwealth series on Monday.
While the main talking point of the squad was the exclusion of former captain Ricky Ponting, the comeback of Watson was also a massive boost to the Australian team.
Since recovering from his injuries, the 30-year-old New South Welshman has only appeared in one first class match, therefore, Inverarity said they won't be throwing him back into the thick of things straightaway.
"He is inching his way towards full fitness. Shane was happy to get through the game [against WA] though he would have liked to have made more runs. He was better in his third spell of four overs than the first two and looked a bit freer," Inverarity said.
"It may be considered better to keep him there practicing with the team and then he plays in Sydney [on Sunday] rather than Hobart [on Friday]."
Australia are 1.14 to win the 2012 Commonwealth Bank Series, while India are 1213.00 and Sri Lanka are 5.50.
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