Shane Watson facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Shane Watson

Watson in 2016
Personal information
Full name	Shane Robert Watson
Born	(1981-06-17) 17 June 1981 (age 44) Ipswich, Queensland, Australia
Nickname	Watto
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm fast-medium
Role	All-rounder
International information
National side	Australia (2002–2016)
Test debut (cap 391)	2 January 2005 v Pakistan
Last Test	8 July 2015 v England
ODI debut (cap 148)	24 March 2002 v South Africa
Last ODI	5 September 2015 v England
ODI shirt no.	33
T20I debut (cap 19)	24 February 2006 v South Africa
Last T20I	27 March 2016 v India
Domestic team information
Years	Team
2000/01–2003/04	Tasmania
2004–2005	Hampshire
2004/05–2008/09	Queensland
2008–2015	Rajasthan Royals
2010/11–2015/16	New South Wales
2011/12	Sydney Sixers
2012/13	Brisbane Heat
2015/16	Canterbury
2015/16–2018/19	Sydney Thunder
2016–2017	Islamabad United
2016–2017	Royal Challengers Bangalore
2016–2017	St Lucia Stars
2018–2020	Quetta Gladiators
2018–2020	Chennai Super Kings
2019/20	Rangpur Riders
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI T20I FC Matches 59 190 58 137 Runs scored 3,731 5,757 1,462 9,451 Batting average 35.19 40.54 29.24 42.57 100s/50s 4/24 9/33 1/10 20/54 Top score 176 185* 124* 203* Balls bowled 5,495 6,466 930 12,164 Wickets 75 168 48 210 Bowling average 33.68 31.79 24.72 29.97 5 wickets in innings 3 0 0 7 10 wickets in match 0 0 0 1 Best bowling 6/33 4/36 4/15 7/69 Catches/stumpings 45/– 64/– 20/– 109/–
Medal record Men's Cricket Representing  Australia ICC Cricket World Cup Winner 2007 West Indies Winner 2015 Australia and New Zealand ICC Champions Trophy Winner 2006 India Winner 2009 South Africa ICC T20 World Cup Runner-up 2010 West Indies
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 17 January 2019

Shane Robert Watson (born 17 June 1981) is an Australian cricket coach, commentator, and former cricket player. He played for and sometimes led the Australian national team from 2002 to 2016. He was known as an all-rounder, meaning he was good at both batting (right-handed) and bowling (right-arm fast-medium).

Watson was ranked the world's best all-rounder in Twenty20 Internationals (T20I) for 150 weeks. This included a record 120 weeks in a row from 2011 to 2014. He was part of Australia's winning teams for the Cricket World Cup in 2007 and 2015. He also helped Australia win the ICC Champions Trophy in 2006 and 2009. He was named player of the match in both Champions Trophy finals.

After retiring from international cricket in 2016, Watson continued to play in Twenty20 leagues around the world. This included the Indian Premier League (IPL), where he was named player of the tournament twice (2008 and 2013). He also won the IPL title twice (2008 and 2018). He retired from all forms of cricket in 2020.

Early Life and Cricket Start

Shane Watson grew up in Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. He went to St Marys Primary School and Ipswich Grammar School. He started playing cricket at a young age. In 1993, he played for Queensland Primary Schools in a championship in Darwin.

He played club cricket in Ipswich for the Brothers club. Later, he played for Eastern Suburbs in Brisbane Grade Cricket. He also represented Queensland at under-17 and under-19 levels. In 2000, he played for Australia in the 2000 Under-19 Cricket World Cup.

In 2000, Watson joined the AIS Australian Cricket Academy. He then moved to Hobart, Tasmania, to play for the Tasmanian state team. In his first half-season, he scored 309 runs and took 11 wickets. He even scored his first first-class century in his fifth match.

Playing for Australia

First Years (2002–2009)

Watson was first chosen for the Australian team in early 2002. He went on a tour to South Africa. He made his One Day International (ODI) debut there. He became a regular player in the ODI team.

However, injuries often kept him out of the game. In 2003, he had three stress fractures in his back. This meant he missed the 2003 Cricket World Cup. When he came back, he could only bat, not bowl, while he recovered.

In 2004, Watson played county cricket for Hampshire in England. He also moved back to his home state to play for Queensland.

In January 2005, Watson made his Test debut for Australia. This was against Pakistan at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). He played as Australia's fifth bowler.

In 2005, while on tour in England, the Australian team stayed at Lumley Castle. Many believe the castle is haunted. Watson was so scared by his room that he slept on the floor in his teammate Brett Lee's room!

Watson became an important all-rounder for Australia. He opened the batting for Australia in the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy. He helped Australia win the tournament. In the final, he scored 57 runs and took 2 wickets. He was named player of the match.

He played a big role again in the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa. He scored two centuries in a row against England and New Zealand. These centuries helped Australia win the title again.

Watson faced more injuries, including a hamstring tear in 2006 and 2007. He missed parts of the 2006–07 Ashes series and the 2007 ICC World Twenty20.

In late 2008, Watson took over the all-rounder spot for the tour of India. He batted at number 6. He returned to the Australian Test side as an opener in 2009. He scored 62 and 53 runs in his first match back.

In December 2009, he scored 96 runs against the West Indies, just missing his first Test century. But in the next match, he finally scored his first Test hundred, getting 120 not out. He was named man of the match.

Shane Watson fielding in 2009

Key Years (2010–2014)

In 2010, Watson scored his second Test century against India. He continued to be a strong opener for Australia. From 2009 to 2010, he had the highest Test batting average for an Australian opener.

On 30 March 2011, Watson became the vice-captain for both Test and ODI teams. On 11 April 2011, he scored an amazing 185 not out from just 96 balls against Bangladesh. In this match, he set several records:

• Most sixes in an ODI innings (15 at the time).
• Highest score by an Australian batsman in an ODI.
• Fastest 150 runs in an ODI.
• Most runs from boundaries (fours and sixes) in an ODI.
• Highest individual score when chasing a target in an ODI.

Watson won many awards during this time. He won the Allan Border Medal in 2010 and 2011. This is a very important award for Australian cricketers.

Before the 2012 ICC World Twenty20, Australia was ranked 10th. But Watson's great performance helped them move up to sixth place. He was in amazing form, scoring runs and taking wickets.

• Against Ireland, he took 3 wickets and scored 51 runs.
• Against West Indies, he took 2 wickets and scored 41 not out.
• Against India, he took 3 wickets and scored 72 runs.
• Against South Africa, he took 2 wickets and scored 70 runs.

He won four "Man of the Match" awards in a row! He had the most runs, wickets, and sixes in the tournament. He was named "Player of the Tournament."

In 2013, during a Test series in India, Watson and three other players were dropped from a match. This happened because they did not complete a team task requested by the coach. Watson then left India to be with his wife for the birth of their child. He returned to captain the team in the final match, but Australia lost the series.

Watson played in the Ashes series in 2013 and 2014, batting at number 3.

Shane Watson plays a cut shot.

Final Years (2015–2016)

Watson was part of Australia's team for the 2015 Cricket World Cup. He played in most matches as Australia went on to win the tournament. He had a tough start but then scored 67 runs against Sri Lanka.

In the quarter-final against Pakistan, Watson scored 64 not out. Australia won by 6 wickets. He also played in the semi-final and the final, where Australia won their fifth Cricket World Cup.

After the 2015 Ashes series, Watson decided to retire from Test cricket. He wanted to focus on the shorter forms of the game (ODIs and T20Is).

On 31 January 2016, Watson became the T20I captain for Australia. He scored 124 not out in a match, setting new records. He became the first Australian to score a century in all three formats of cricket (Test, ODI, and T20I).

Watson played for Australia in the 2016 World Twenty20 in India. On 24 March 2016, he announced he would retire from all international cricket after the tournament. He was the last player from Australia's strong team of the early 2000s. His final match was Australia's loss to India, which knocked them out of the tournament.

T20 Franchise Cricket

Indian Premier League

Watson played for Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) from 2008 to 2015. He was named "Player of the Tournament" in 2008 and 2013. In 2013, he scored his first Twenty20 century, hitting 101 runs. He even captained the team in 2014.

In 2016, he joined Royal Challengers Bangalore. He was the highest-paid Australian player that year. He captained the team for some matches in 2017.

Later, he joined Chennai Super Kings in 2018. He scored two more IPL centuries that season. In the 2019 IPL final, he scored 80 runs for Chennai. His teammate, Harbhajan Singh, shared a photo showing Watson's leg bleeding during that match. Singh said Watson got stitches after the game but kept batting without telling anyone.

Watson played his last IPL season in 2020 for Chennai. On 2 November 2020, he announced he was retiring from all cricket. After retiring, he joined Delhi Capitals as an assistant coach in 2022.

Other Leagues

Watson also played in other Twenty20 leagues around the world.

• He joined the Sydney Thunder in Australia's Big Bash League in 2015. He was the captain and helped them win the BBL title that season. In the 2018–19 BBL season, he scored his first BBL century. This made him the first Australian to score a century in the BBL, IPL, and T20I cricket.
• In 2016, he played in the first season of the Pakistan Super League for Islamabad United. He later moved to Quetta Gladiators. Quetta Gladiators named him their Head Coach for the PSL 9 Season.
• He also played in the Caribbean Premier League for two seasons.

Achievements and Records

Shane Watson is considered one of the most successful all-rounders in cricket history, especially in shorter matches. By the end of his international career, he was one of only seven cricketers to have scored 10,000 runs and taken 250 wickets in international cricket.

ODI and T20I Success

In ODI cricket, Watson was ranked the world's best all-rounder in 2011. He also reached number 3 as a batsman. He won the Cricket World Cup twice (2007 and 2015) and the ICC Champions Trophy twice (2006 and 2009). He was player of the match in both Champions Trophy finals.

In T20I cricket, he was ranked the world's best all-rounder for two years. He also became the number 1 batsman. He was named "Player of the Tournament" in the 2012 ICC World Twenty20. He had the most runs and second-most wickets in that tournament.

International Centuries

Watson scored 14 centuries in international cricket:

• 4 in Test matches
• 9 in ODIs
• 1 in a Twenty20 International

When he scored his T20I century in 2016, he became the first Australian to score a century in all three formats of the game.

Test centuries scored by Shane Watson

No.	Score	Against	Venue	Date	Result
1	120*	Pakistan	Melbourne Cricket Ground	26 December 2009	Australia won
2	126	India	Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali	1 October 2010	Australia lost
3	176	England	The Oval, London	21 August 2013	Drawn
4	103	England	WACA Ground, Perth	13 December 2013	Australia won

ODI centuries scored by Shane Watson

No.	Score	Against	Venue	Date	Result
1	126	West Indies	St George's, Grenada	29 June 2008	Australia won
2	116*	Pakistan	Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi	3 May 2009	Australia lost
3	136*	England	SuperSport Park, Centurion	2 October 2009	Australia won
4	105*	New Zealand	SuperSport Park, Centurion	5 October 2009	Australia won
5	161*	England	Melbourne Cricket Ground	16 January 2011	Australia won
6	185*	Bangladesh	Shere Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka	11 April 2011	Australia won
7	122	West Indies	Manuka Oval, Canberra	6 February 2013	Australia won
8	143	England	Rose Bowl, Southampton	16 September 2013	Australia won
9	102	India	Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur	30 October 2013	Australia lost

T20I centuries scored by Shane Watson

No.	Score	Against	Venue	Date	Result
1	124*	India	Sydney Cricket Ground	31 January 2016	Australia lost

Awards and Recognition

Watson won "Player of the Match" awards 29 times and "Player of the Series" awards 7 times in international cricket. Most of these were in One Day International matches.

Cricket Australia holds annual awards called the Australian Cricket Awards. The most important award is the Allan Border Medal. Watson won this award twice, in 2010 and 2011. He also won other awards:

• Test Player of the Year: 2011
• Men's ODI Player of the Year: 2010, 2011, 2012
• Men's T20I Player of the Year: 2012, 2013, 2017
• Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year: 2002
• ICC Men's ODI Team of the Year: 2010, 2011, 2012

Notable Records

Watson set several records during his career:

• In an ODI against Bangladesh in 2011, he scored 185 runs. He hit 15 sixes, which was a record at the time. He also scored 150 runs from just boundaries (fours and sixes), which was also a record.
• In a Test match in 2011, he took 5 wickets for only 17 runs in 5 overs. This was a very efficient bowling performance.
• In a T20I against India in 2016, he scored 124 runs. This was the second-highest score in any T20I at the time. It was also the highest score by a captain in a T20I. Even though Australia lost the match, it remains the highest score by a player in a losing T20I team.

Personal Life and Other Work

Watson is married to broadcaster Lee Furlong. They have two children. Interestingly, while he bats and bowls right-handed, he writes left-handed.

In 2017, Watson started a sports clinic for children called Let’s Activate. It teaches basic sports skills through songs, movement, dance, and activities. Watson also has his own podcast called Lessons Learnt with the Greats.

In November 2019, he was chosen as the President of the Australian Cricketers' Association.

Images for kids

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  Shane Watson in 2009

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  Shane Watson plays a cut shot.

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  Shane Watson at the 2015 Cricket World Cup