Watson His Former Self After Stint As Lee Clone
Sun Herald
Sunday October 16, 2005
HE was brimming with enthusiasm and raw talent, but Shane Watson's progress as a bowler was hindered, rather than helped, by biomechanists at the Cricket Academy fiddling with his action in a failed attempt to make him a clone of Brett Lee.
Only when Bruce Reid stepped in this year at Hampshire did Watson's bowling recover to the point where he's now on the verge of becoming that most rare of jewels in Australian cricket a bona fide Test all-rounder.Watson's vastly improved leather-flinging comes after he worked closely with Reid, the former Australian speedster, during the English county season. Reid credits Watson's revival to a return to his original action the one the academy tried to change as well as his taking up a tip to tuck his left arm into his side at the moment of delivery. The latter sounds trivial, but it's not."The academy tried to get him to do the Brett Lee style of load-up, which he struggled with for two seasons," Reid said."The academy and the biomechanic people reckoned they knew the fastest way to bowl. "But it's not for everybody. It wouldn't have been for me you either can or you can't do it. "It works for Brett, and that's great, but you've got to let people have their natural flair."Tucking his left arm into his side, instead of extending it, has produced all sorts of flow-on effects: standing taller at the crease to give his deliveries more bounce, a reduced delivery stride, peace of mind under pressure because it's an easier action to replicate, and more consistent pace. "We just did it in the nets one day," Reid said. "I stood to the side and said: 'Is that really where you want your arm?' "He said: 'That's where they reckon I should have it, they've told me to.' I said I didn't know about that, I reckoned it made his stride too long. He said: 'What do you mean?' I showed him how I wanted it to look. He did it a few times and said: 'I can't believe how good that feels.' It was so natural to him. He was like: 'Why haven't I been doing this the whole time?"'As for Watson's ambition of becoming Australia's answer to England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff, Reid said it was more than wishful thinking."He just looks so much better than he did the other way," he said. "When he crosses that line he's just full-on. It's absolutely fantastic. You can't ask for any more than that. "He's got a tremendous amount of talent. He's a top-five batsman, and if he can keep his bowling going . . ."
© 2005 Sun Herald