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Shane Watson hopes that a batting masterclass with the captain Michael Clarke, and the absence of his tormentor Tim Bresnan,
will help him overcome his lbw issues in the final Test at The Oval.
Australia's lacklustre batting effort during the tour match against
England Lions may influence the selectors ahead of the final Test, but
the Australians hope that what happened off field might have just as
much impact as they search for ways to prevent another Test
capitulation.
On the eve of the Northampton game, Watson spent a long session in the
nets facing throwdowns from the official batting coach Michael di
Venuto, while Clarke served as an unofficial mentor and yelled advice
from the other end of the pitch. The goal was clear - to find a way for
Watson to play as close as possible to his natural game while preventing
a dismissal that comes equally naturally, the
walking-across-his-stumps-lbw that has brought his downfall four times
in this series.
"I've been having a chat to Michael over the last week especially about
the way that I'm getting out, lbw at the moment," Watson said after the
Northampton match. "I'm getting a lot of different information about the
ways that I can try to get that right. Michael just more so jogged my
memory of a few things that I was doing a couple of years ago, more so
with Greg Chappell, and making sure I was taking it back to the basics
and having someone throw the ball slowly and making sure I was getting
myself in the right position.
"Michael's advice has been excellent. He has been through a similar
thing at some stage in his career. It's good to be able to get his
advice. He's certainly one of the best players in the world and has been
for the last couple of years. He has been through all those different
challenges throughout his Test career, so it's nice to be able to get
his advice."
Watson and Clarke have not always seen eye to eye in the Australian camp - former coach Mickey Arthur's leaked legal documents
certainly confirmed those reports - but both men insist they work
together well, and a smoothly-running Watson in the middle order would
be of significant benefit to the team's hopes. Watson showed some good
signs in the first innings at Chester-le-Street, when he supported Chris
Rogers with 68, but another lbw in the chase added to his trouble.
The good news for Watson is that Bresnan has been ruled out of the final
Test due to a back injury, and while both James Anderson and Stuart
Broad have also trapped Watson lbw once each in this series, Bresnan has
done it twice. It was Bresnan who did the job in the second innings of
the fourth Test and Watson knows that even in the absence of Bresnan, he
must find a balance between playing his natural game and planting his
front foot too much.
"I let myself down in the second innings to get out that way again,"
Watson said. "I know how they will attack me. Bresnan is the one who has
given me the most trouble with that angle and unfortunately for him,
but fortunately for me, he won't be playing. He has bowled nicely and
done a great job."
Watson had hoped to put some of his training into practice during the
tour match against the England Lions but he found himself largely facing
the left-arm spin of Simon Kerrigan, against whom he clubbed 36 of his
45 runs. He was out hooking James Harris to fine leg, which denied him
the chance to work on his technique more against the fast men.
"Mainly [my aim] was to try and face some quicks to work on a technical
thing that I've been working on, getting my front leg out of the way
more than anything, or getting my bat in the way," Watson said. "It
wasn't too much of a practice against that today unfortunately. But
being down here and being able to do a lot of work on that in the nets
alone, I have got a lot out of these last few days anyway."
Brydon Coverdale is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. He tweets here
Feeds: Brydon Coverdale
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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