All-rounder Early Favourite To Claim No.6 Spot, Says Border

The Age

Friday September 29, 2006

ALEX BROWN with AGENCIES

NOT so long ago, the prospect of Shane Watson turning out for the Broncos this Sunday was every bit as likely as him securing Australia's No. 6 slot for the most anticipated Ashes series in recent years. Perhaps more so.

But, as it turned out, the sporting all-rounder chose to ply his trade as a cricketing all-rounder. And less than two months out from the Ashes, Watson's move seems to have paid off, with national selector Allan Border confirming that the one-time Ipswich rugby league prospect was the frontrunner to claim the contentious No. 6 slot over contenders including Michael Clarke and Andrew Symonds.

"(Watson) is the guy we're looking at very closely," Border said. "Obviously, he's got the early running, but that's not to say that someone might come out of the woodwork in those early Pura Cup games. If he can get in there with both bat and ball . . . that'd be fantastic and it makes the balance of the side much better."

But another former Australian captain, Ian Chappell, remains unconvinced about Watson, believing Clarke is a better proposition to bat in the top six. "I'm not 100 per cent convinced about Shane Watson as a Test-match all-rounder yet. I need to see a bit more, particularly his bowling," Chappell said.

"(Former Tasmanian skipper) Jamie Cox reckons Watson could bat at three or four for Australia . . . He seemed to think a lot of the guys playing first-class cricket think Watson is better equipped than Clarke. I'm still not in that camp by a long way."

It is believed the selectors feel 25-year-old Watson can provide batting insurance for Adam Gilchrist and bowling cover for Glenn McGrath, returning from injury.

Should he edge out Clarke and Symonds for the No. 6 position, Watson's inclusion will form a vastly different middle order to the one that contested last year's Ashes. Michael Hussey, a controversial omission from the 2005 Ashes touring party, is now an automatic selection at No. 5. "He has been a revelation," Border said. "His performances over the last couple of years have been outstanding in both forms of the game."

? ENGLAND has asked permission to field all 16 members of its squad in its first three-day warm-up match for the Ashes series, against NSW from November 12-14. The increased playing numbers mean the match will lose its first-class status. England's other three-day game is against South Australia at Adelaide Oval from November 17-19.

? INDIA'S new chief selector, Dilip Vengsarkar, has backed Sourav Ganguly's bid to return to the national team, saying no player would be discriminated against. "There will be no bias against any player, we will go purely by form," Vengsarkar said yesterday after replacing Kiran More as chairman of India's five-man selection committee.

Ganguly was sacked as captain and later dropped from the national side following coach Greg Chappell saying that Ganguly was a "disrupting influence" in the team. -- ALEX BROWN, with AGENCIES

© 2006 The Age

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