In spite of getting dropped and not playing another Test to accommodate a debutant named Shane Watson in 2005, former Australia batter Darren Lehmann always backed the former to do well at the highest level. Right since his appointment as Australia head coach before The Ashes 2013 in England, Lehmann was adamant to have Watson bat right at the top of the batting order.
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While Watson’s Test career commenced in January 2005, it was only since July 2009 that he began opening the innings. Until the beginning of Ashes 2013, he had scored 1,895 runs across 25 matches at an average of 43.06 including a couple of centuries at the top of the order.
That said, 40 months after the above mentioned period, Lehmann regretted selecting Watson in Australia’s Ashes 2015 squad in his autobiography titled ‘Coach’.
Darren Lehmann Had Promoted Shane Watson As Opener In Ashes 2013
Prior to The Ashes 2013, it was the pair of David Warner and Ed Cowan who had opened the innings for Australia during the India tour earlier that year. Watson, meanwhile, had moved down to the middle-order after opening the batting in the second innings of the first Test in Chennai.
Post losing in India 0-4 and then getting crashed out of Champions Trophy 2013 without a single win under their belt, the then Australian head coach Mickey Arthur was sacked by CA (Cricket Australia).
Lehmann, who replaced him just a few days ahead of first Ashes Test in Nottingham, took the first bold move to promote Watson at the top again. However, he got dismissed at scores of 13 and 46 at Trent Bridge. Come the second Test at Lord’s, the right-handed batter yet again got off to decent starts before getting out LBW at scores of 30 and 20. Despite ordinary returns, Lehmann continued backing Watson as an opening batter.
“We need him to make it as an opener and I’m really confident he will make it as an opener. He’s in form. We’ll back him to the hilt. I think he’s had good starts, he’s just got to kick on,” remarked Lehmann to Australian Associated Press.
Post scoring 19 in the first innings of the third Test in Manchester, Watson jumped down to No. 4 in the second innings, with Warner partnering Chris Rogers at the top. The Warner-Rogers pair opened during the fourth Test as well as Watson was further relegated to No. 6. However, during the fifth Test at The Oval, Watson was promoted at No. 3 where he registered a career-best score (176) to bounce back in style.
The move to have him play down the order did not last long as he was yet again sent to open during the second innings of the final Test, this time alongside Warner. That being said, it turned out to be the last time when Watson had opened the innings in the longest format.
Darren Lehmann Regretted Selecting Shane Watson In Ashes 2015 Squad
Over three years after deciding to have him play as a Test opener, Lehmann regretted having picked Watson in the Australian squad for Ashes 2015, as admitted by him in his autobiography. The decision was taken despite the all-rounder failed to impress on the tour of West Indies a month ago.
Batting at No. 6 during the first Test in Cardiff, Watson was dismissed for scores of 30 and 19 in a losing cause. In Coach, Lehmann had admitted having been blinded with the affection he had for Watson (and wicket-keeper batter Brad Haddin), and hoped that the pair could somehow perform to their potential again.
“I knew in my heart of hearts they had run their race at Test level. I admit I did allow myself to be blinded a little through sentiment and a belief they could turn around their declining form. Given my time again, my preference as just one member of the NSP (National Selection Panel) would have been to look beyond Watson and Haddin for that Ashes series, but circumstances dictated otherwise. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.”
Lehmann’s above mentioned admission perhaps stood valid considering how Watson scored only 624 runs across 12 Tests at an average of 32.57 post Ashes 2013 until the tour of Caribbean in June 2015. He had smashed just a solitary century during that period.
Watson, who was dropped for the remaining four Ashes 2015 Tests, announced his retirement from the format a couple of months later.
