SYDNEY: Shane Watson has his sights set on being fully fit for the World Cup after re-injuring his left hamstring on the weekend.Watson was originally named in Australia’s team for the first Ashes Test at Brisbane but hurt his leg while bowling for Queensland in November.
In his return to bowling in a Pura Cup game on Saturday, Watson managed three overs before again injuring the same hamstring, though in a slightly different place. He will fly to Melbourne to consult the Australia team doctor Trefor James on Wednesday.
Watson, who batted with a runner on Sunday and made a courageous 68 for the Bulls, said he would not consider becoming a specialist batsman to allow his muscle to fully recover.
“Giving up bowling is not an option,” Watson told AAP. “I love batting and bowling. I’ll be right for the World Cup. I just have to make sure I do everything I possibly can to make sure I’m there. I can’t let the hamstring put me out of the World Cup as well as the Ashes,” he added.
Watson said his injury should not be an ongoing problem. “There’s a strain there and we think it’s another tear,” he said. “It’s not a chronic thing. But when you’re a bowler giving 100 per cent, every time you charge in, if there’s a slight weakness there, it does go as a bowler,” he added.
Watson, who would likely have batted at No. 6 in the Perth test had he remained fit this summer, said he had spoken to the man who filled that role, Andrew Symonds, after the Ashes win.
“(He) actually gave me a call last night, which was really nice of him, to say he was thinking of me and that all the boys were having a couple of beers for me,” Watson said.
“They knew I was feeling happy for them but probably feeling disappointed, and they wanted me to know I was in their thoughts - which was really lovely of them. I was really happy for all the guys because all that mattered was Australia winning back the Ashes. I would have loved to have been a part of it but it wasn’t my time, I suppose.”
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