Watto the matter

On Wednesday,Australia coach Mickey Arthur reiterated this point: “You can’t buy experience — only 3 of this squad have played Test cricket in India. They will be stronger and better for the experience.”

The three Australians who have toured India before are skipper Michael Clarke,left-arm quick Mitchell Johnson and Watson. Clarke has been Australia’s best batsman on the tour,Johnson hasn’t featured so far,and Watson has scored 28,17,23 and 9.

Unlike the three left-handers who batted above him in Chennai and Hyderabad,Watson’s run of scores cannot be explained away by inexperience or any glaring weaknesses against spin – he has scored a hundred and three fifties in his two previous India tours. It’s a vexing issue,acknowledged by Arthur in his Wednesday morning press conference.

“The truth be told,we really need Shane Watson firing now. Michael Clarke needs a lot of support in the batting,” he said. “I don’t think it’s a technique thing at all. Every time Shane has gone to the wicket,he has looked brilliant. But he’s been getting out for 20s. I just pray every time he goes to the wicket there’s a big score because I think once he gets that one big score,that will unlock the shackles.”

Poor conversion rate

Trouble is,Watson’s entire career has been a wait for ‘that one big score’.

Since his debut in January 2005,Watson has scored only two centuries in 73 Test innings. In the same period,Harbhajan Singh has scored two centuries in 82 innings. At Hyderabad,Watson’s teammates included Warner (3 centuries in 30 innings),Hughes (3 in 41) and Matthew Wade (2 in 20),none of whom are remotely settled in the Test eleven. His opponents included Cheteshwar Pujara (4 in 18),Virat Kohli (4 in 27) and Murali Vijay (2 in 23),all of whom are finding their feet in Test cricket.

Watson is Australia’s vice-captain. And,on this tour,a specialist batsman. His team will need a bigger contribution from him at Mohali (where,in 2010,he made his last Test hundred) and Delhi. He will hope for a little more luck,certainly — his last two dismissals saw him out LBW off a ball that kept low and caught behind down the leg side.

But where will he bat? Clarke is likely to promote himself,which probably means a move from number five to Watson’s current slot at number four. Hughes,with 25 runs in four innings,will probably make way for fellow left-hander Usman Khawaja. Will that mean Watson at 3 and Khawaja at 5? Or Khawaja at 3 and Watson at 5?

Number five is the one middle-order slot Watson hasn’t occupied so far in his career. In 27 middle-order innings,Watson averages 24.56. As an opener,he averages 43.07 in 46 innings. It seems a no-brainer that Watson should open,but that isn’t such a straightforward situation either. Cowan and Warner have opened together three times this series and put on 64,10 and 56. They haven’t made big scores individually,but they haven’t really failed as a partnership.

Moving one of the two down the order might expose them to an unfamiliar position. Dropping one of the two,meanwhile,will mean bringing in Steven Smith,a third non-specialist batsman in the middle order to go with Moises Henriques and Glenn Maxwell. In solving the Watson dilemma,Australia have no easy choices.