Shane Robert Watson (born 17 June 1981) is an Australian former

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

er, and occasional captain in all formats, who has played for Australia's national cricket team. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-handed

fast-medium Fast bowling (also referred to as pace bowling) is one of two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket, the other being spin bowling. Practitioners of pace bowling are usually known as ''fast'' bowlers, ''quicks'', or ''pacemen''. T ...

swing Swing or swinging may refer to: Apparatus * Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth * Pendulum, an object that swings * Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus * Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse * Swing ri ...

bowler who played international cricket between 2002 and 2016. He was the world No. 1

T20I A Twenty20 International (T20I) is a form of cricket, played between two of the international members of the International Cricket Council (ICC), in which each team faces a maximum of twenty overs. The matches have top-class status and are the ...

all-rounder for 150 weeks, including an all-time record of 120 consecutive weeks (13 Oct 2011 – 30 January 2014). He was the last player to retire from Australia's golden era of the early 2000s.Shane Watson announces international retirement at end of World Twenty20
Abc.net.au (24 March 2016). Retrieved on 26 May 2018.Watson to retire at end of World T20
Cricket.com.au (24 March 2016). Retrieved on 26 May 2018.
Espncricinfo.com (24 March 2016). Retrieved on 26 May 2018. Watson holds several records in T20Is, ODIs and T20s. According to ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

'', Watson was the highest-paid non-Indian cricketer in the world for five consecutive years between 2011 and 2015. He is considered one of the most influential white ball all-rounders in this era and won the ''Player of the Series'' or ''Most Valuable Player'' award in a number of crucial tournaments, including the 2009 Champions Trophy, 2012 World T20,

2008 IPL The 2008 Indian Premier League season was the inaugural season of the Indian Premier League, established by the BCCI in 2007. The season commenced on 18 April 2008 with the final match was held on 1 June 2008. The competition started with a dou ...

and

2013 IPL The 2013 season of the Indian Premier League, abbreviated as IPL 6 or Pepsi IPL 2013, was the sixth season of the IPL, established by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 2007. The tournament featured nine teams and was held fro ...

. He is one of the two players to score a century and take a hat-trick in the

Indian Premier League The Indian Premier League (IPL), also known as TATA IPL for sponsorship reasons, is a men's T20 franchise cricket league of India. It is annually contested by ten teams based out of seven Indian cities and three Indian states. The leagu ...

along with

Rohit Sharma Rohit Gurunath Sharma (born 30 April 1987) is an Indian international cricketer and the current captain of the Indian cricket team. Widely considered as one of the best opening batter of all time, he plays as a right-handed batsman for Mumb ...

. On 2 November 2020, he announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. Ahead of IPL 2022, Watson joined Delhi Capitals as assistant coach of the franchise.

Early life and career

Watson was raised in

Ipswich, Queensland Ipswich () is a city in South East Queensland, Australia. Situated on the Bremer River, it is approximately west of the Brisbane central business district. The city is renowned for its architectural, natural and cultural heritage. Ipswich p ...

. For his education he attended St Marys Primary School and Ipswich Grammar School. He began playing cricket at an early age and represented Queensland Primary Schools in an interstate championship in Darwin in 1993. He began playing club cricket in Ipswich for the local Brothers club, then played

Brisbane Grade Cricket Queensland Premier Cricket is the top cricket competition played in Queensland, Australia. The competition was founded under the name Brisbane Electoral Cricket in 1897 and eventually came to be known as Brisbane Grade Cricket, but has since exp ...

for Eastern Suburbs. He represented the state at both under-17s level (in 1996/97) and under-19s level (in 1997/98, 1998/99, and 1999/00), and ultimately represented

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

in the

2000 Under-19 Cricket World Cup The 2000 ICC Under-19 World Cup was an international limited-overs cricket tournament played in Sri Lanka from 11 to 28 January 2000. It was the third edition of the Under-19 Cricket World Cup and the first to be held in Sri Lanka. The 2000 Wor ...

. Watson was an AIS

Australian Cricket Academy The Australian Cricket Academy was founded in 1987 as a joint initiative of the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) and the Australian Cricket Board (ACB). It was initially located at Henley Beach in Adelaide before moving to the Allan Border Fi ...

scholarship holder in 2000. Before 2000, players who were part of the academy were required to play cricket in their home states in the following year, but a rule change that year made Watson a free agent, and he chose to move to

Hobart, Tasmania Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/ Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

where he was guaranteed an immediate place in the Tasmanian state team. He played for Tasmania in the second half of the 2000–01 Sheffield Shield season, making his way up the order from batting at number 7 on debut to batting at number 4 at season's end. In half a season he scored 309 runs at an average of 51.50, including his maiden first-class century in his fifth match, and took 11 wickets at an average of 26.27. At the end of the season he signed a three-year contract with Tasmania.

International career

2002–2009

Watson was first selected for the Australian team in early 2002, being selected to tour South Africa with the Test team. He had topped the Pura Cup wicket-taking charts for

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

, as well as had steady middle-order batting performances. On the tour, he played a tour match against the South Africa A side, where he scored a quickfire century off of 96 deliveries and took three wickets. Watson also made his ODI debut on tour, replacing

Steve Waugh Stephen Rodger Waugh (born 2 June 1965) is an Australian former international cricketer and twin brother of cricketer Mark Waugh. A right-handed batsman, he was also a medium-pace bowler. As Australian captain from 1997 to 2004, he led Austral ...

, who was sacked after the team failed to make the finals of the 2001–02 VB Series. Watson continued as a regular member of the ODI team in place of Waugh despite public support for Waugh to return to the ODI team. He stayed in the team until the start of 2003, when he suffered three stress fractures in his back, meaning he missed the

2003 Cricket World Cup The 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup was the eighth Cricket World Cup, organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya from 9 February to 23 March 2003. This edition of the World Cup was the f ...

. When he returned to cricket from his injury, he was only able to bat, not bowl, while his recovery finished. Watson was contracted with

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

to play

county cricket Inter-county cricket matches are known to have been played since the early 18th century, involving teams that are representative of the historic counties of England and Wales. Since the late 19th century, there have been two county championship ...

in 2004. He signed as a replacement player, as Hampshire knew that their two international players (

Shane Warne Shane Keith Warne (13 September 1969 – 4 March 2022) was an Australian international cricketer, whose career ran from 1991 to 2007. Warne played as a right-arm leg spin bowler and a right-handed batsman for Victoria, Hampshire and Australi ...

and Michael Clarke) would be unavailable for part of the season while they played for Australia. Watson returned to regular ODI duty in the 2004–05 season, as a bowling all rounder. He also made his test debut in the Third Test against

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

as the fifth bowler, to allow Australia to play two spinners and three pace bowlers on a dry

Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in Sydney, Australia. It is used for Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australian rules football and occasionally for rugby league, rugby union and association f ...

pitch. Australian selectors included Watson as the fifth bowler and all rounder in all Test matches following the 2005 Ashes series. Watson played against the ICC World XI in the role, but he dislocated his shoulder in just his second Test in that designated role against the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

, after diving to field a ball. Watson was again replaced by Symonds and was unable to represent Australia for the remainder of the summer. Shane Watson 2009 fielding

This changed when Watson opened the batting for Australia at the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy, alongside wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist, instead of

Simon Katich Simon Matthew Katich (born 21 August 1975) is an Australian cricket coach and former cricketer. He captained New South Wales and also, until the end of the 2007 season, Derbyshire County Cricket Club. Katich also played for Lancashire, represen ...

. After failing in the first two matches against the

and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, Watson made a 50 in Australia's victory over

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

, which sealed their place in the semi-finals, he then took 2 wickets and scored 57 not out in the finals to seal the win. In the

2009 ICC Champions Trophy The 2009 ICC Champions Trophy was a One Day International cricket tournament held in South Africa between 22 September and 5 October, at Wanderers Stadium and Centurion Park, both in the Gauteng province. Originally, the tournament was schedul ...

held in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

, Watson again played a prominent role, making two consecutive 100s against

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

in semi-final and final, helping

to defend their title. Watson was named in the squad for the 2006–07 Ashes series against England. However, he came off the ground in a one-day domestic game the week before the first Test with a suspected hamstring tear, which ruled him out for the first three Tests. Michael Clarke was called up in Watson's place, and responded with a half-century, and then a century to cement Clarke's place in the team. Watson was expected to be fit for the fourth Test on Boxing Day and the

MCG The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hem ...

in Melbourne, and because of Damien Martyn's unexpected retirement, it looked likely that Watson would be included in the side. However, another injury setback in a match for Queensland ruled Watson out for the rest of the Ashes series. Watson eventually returned in February to the ODI side, replacing

Cameron White Cameron Leon White (born 18 August 1983) is an Australian former international cricketer who captained the national side in Twenty20 Internationals. A powerful middle order batsman and right-arm leg-spin bowler, White made his first-class cr ...

in the all rounder position, However he again broke down with injury during the 29th match of

2007 Cricket World Cup The 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup was the ninth Cricket World Cup, a One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament that took place in the West Indies from 13 March to 28 April 2007. There were a total of 51 matches played, three fewer than at the ...

and missed two matches of the Super 8's before returning in fine style scoring an unbeaten 65 off 32 balls against New Zealand. Injury again struck Watson in the early stages of the

2007 ICC World Twenty20 The 2007 ICC World Twenty20 was the inaugural Twenty20 International cricket world championship, contested in South Africa from 11 to 24 September 2007. Twelve teams took part in the thirteen-day tournament—the ten Test-playing nations and the ...

as he missed most of the tournament due to

hamstring In human anatomy, a hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in between the hip and the knee (from medial to lateral: semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris). The hamstrings are susceptible to injury. In quadrupe ...

strain. He was then out of action for the 2007–08 Australian season. After Symonds was omitted from the Australian team for disciplinary reasons, Watson took the all rounder's position for the tour of India in late 2008, batting at No. 6. During the Third Test in Delhi, he was involved in a series of confrontations with Indian opener

Gautam Gambhir Gautam Gambhir (; born 14 October 1981) is an Indian politician and former cricketer, who has played all formats of the game. He is a current member of the Lok Sabha since 2019. He received the Padma Shri from the Government of India in 2019, ...

, who scored a double century and reached his century by lofting Watson over midwicket for six. After returning to Australia, Symonds was recalled to the Test team and both all rounders played in the First Test against New Zealand in Brisbane. As the pitch was a green, rain-affected moist surface expected to favour seamers, spinner

Jason Krejza Jason John Krejza (born 14 January 1983) is a former Australian cricketer. He played for the Tasmanian Tigers and Leicestershire. Krejza's father was an association football player from Czechoslovakia and his mother was born in Poland. His ...

was dropped to accommodate two seam bowling all rounders. After the match, which Australia won, Watson was dropped as spinner

Nathan Hauritz Nathan Michael Hauritz (; born 18 October 1981) is a former Australian cricketer who has represented Australia in Tests, One-dayers and Twenty20 Internationals. He is mainly noted for his off spin bowling. After representing Australia at Un ...

was included and Symonds retained. Symonds continued to perform poorly, and there were calls for Watson to take his place, but both men then fell injured at the end of the year, Watson with a stress fracture. Watson returned to international duty in the ODI series against Pakistan in the UAE, scoring a century. Shane Watson 2013

He returned to the Australian Test side for the 3rd Ashes Test match at Edgbaston on 30 July 2009 as an opener. In a rain interrupted match he made 62 and 53 batting alongside

. He scored his second highest Test score of 96 against the West Indies in the Second Test in Adelaide in December 2009. He and Katich put on a century stand and he had reached 96 at stumps, only to inside edge his first ball of the next morning onto his stumps while attempting to hit a boundary to reach his century. In the Third Test, he made 89 in another century stand with Katich. In the second innings, he removed opposition captain Chris Gayle and then charged towards him, screaming in celebration directly in front of him. This earned him a fine from the match referee, and considerable criticism from much of the Australian public. In the First Test against Pakistan, he made 93 runs on Boxing Day and featured in his third century stand in as many matches with Katich, but was run out after a mix-up with Katich in which both players ended up running towards the same end, again falling short of his debut Test hundred. On Day four, Watson finally made his first Test hundred, which came in interesting style, by hitting the ball hard to the fielder at point who put the catch down. When Ponting declared, he remained not out on 120. Watson was awarded man of the match on 30 December for his role in Australia's Test victory. In the second innings of the Second Test at the SCG, Watson fell short of another century, dismissed for 97. During this Test, the Australian Cricket Media Association presented Watson with Australian Cricketer of the Year Award.

2010–2019

In the first test of Australia's 2010 tour of India, Watson opened his account with his second test century – an attritional 126 runs off 338 balls on a slow, low Mohali pitch. The innings capped an excellent start to the tour, as he also scored a century in each innings of the warm-up match, albeit at a much brisker pace. He topscored again in the second innings with a run-a-ball 56, which proved vital in setting a competitive target as Australia's middle order again collapsed in spectacular fashion following his dismissal. During this period as an opener, he had the highest Australian

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

batting average (50.40) for 2 calendar years (2009–2010). On 30 March 2011, Watson was named test and ODI vice-captain. On 11 April 2011 he made 185 not out off 96 balls against Bangladesh. Watson made several records in this match, which include most sixes, highest score by an Australian batsman, fastest 150, most runs from boundaries, highest individual score while chasing in an ODI and highest score in the second innings of an ODI match, dethroning MS Dhoni's 183 not out against Sri Lanka in 2005. But his record of highest individual score while chasing in an ODI was broken when Fakhar Zaman scored 193 in a losing cause on 4 April 2021 in the 2nd ODI against South Africa while chasing 342. During 2010–2013, he won a series of Australian "Player of the Year" awards, including Allan Border Medal in 2010 and 2011. Before the start of

2012 ICC World Twenty20 The 2012 ICC World Twenty20 was the fourth ICC World Twenty20 competition, an international Twenty20 cricket tournament that took place in Sri Lanka from 18 September to 7 October 2012 which was won by the West Indies. The schedule has been pos ...

, there were no expectations on Australia as it was ranked only 10th in the world. After two stages of the tournament, Australia were placed at sixth, moving up four places and became one of the favourites to win the tournament. This is the only time a team's place in the rankings has changed so drastically in a short time, due to four straight wins against top-ranked teams. Much of this success was due to an in-form Shane Watson. In the first match against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

at R.Premadasa Stadium in

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

, Watson opened the bowling and took 3–26 (the wickets of opener-captain William Porterfield, keeper-batsman Niall O'Brien and all-rounder Kevin O'Brien); he then scored 51 from 30 balls to help his side win the match in 15.1 overs. He was subsequently named as Man of the Match. In the next match against the

he again opened the bowling and batting, taking 2–29 from 4 overs (the wickets of

Chris Gayle Christopher Henry Gayle, OD (born 21 September 1979) is a Jamaican cricketer who has been playing international cricket for the West Indies since 1999. A destructive batter, Gayle is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen to have play ...

Kieron Pollard Kieron Adrian Pollard (born 12 May 1987) is a Trinidadian who is a former West Indies cricketer. He has captained the West Indies cricket team in limited overs cricket. He currently plays in various T20 leagues around the globe as an all-roun ...

). He then scored 41 not out from 24 balls to win the Man of the Match award as his side won by 17 runs (by the Duckworth-Lewis method). Against

, he was used as second change bowler and took 3–34. It was he who had changed the game by taking the wickets of

Yuvraj Singh Yuvraj Singh (born 12 December 1981) is a former Indian international cricketer who played in all formats of the game. He is an all-rounder who batted left-handed in the middle order and bowled slow left-arm orthodox . He has won 7 Player of ...

and opener

Irfan Pathan Irfan Pathan (; born 27 October 1984) is a former Indian cricketer turned Commentator, Cricket Analyst, Actor and Dancer. He was a bowling all rounder and a member of the Indian cricket team that won the inaugural 2007 ICC Twenty20 World Cup a ...

in the 11th over. He also dismissed

Suresh Raina Suresh Raina (; born 27 November 1986) is an Indian former international cricketer. He occasionally served as stand-in captain for Indian men's national cricket team during the absence of the main captain. He played for Uttar Pradesh (UP) in ...

in the last over. He followed it up with 72 from 42 balls (7 sixes and 2 fours) making a mockery of the target 141.Shane Watson threat looms over South Africa.
Retrieved on 30 April 2015. Against

he took 2–29 (the wickets of

Hashim Amla Hashim Mahomed Amla OIS (born 31 March 1983) is a South African former international cricketer who played for South Africa in all three formats of the game. Amla holds the record for being the fastest ever to score 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000, 6000 ...

and AB de Villiers), following it up with 70 from 47 balls to win his fourth consecutive Man of the Match award. At the completion of the group stages and Super Eight stages, Watson had the most runs, wickets and sixes.One-man team Shane Watson makes it four from four for Australia
Independent.co.uk. Retrieved on 26 May 2018.Samiuddin, Osman (30 September 2012
Patience pays for prudent Shane Watson
thenational.ae His dominance with both bat and ball made him the unanimous choice of the experts to be named Player of the Tournament. Shane Watson World Cup 2015 pic2

Before the 3rd Test against India in March 2013, the team management of Michael Clarke, who was also a selector at the time, and coach Mickey Arthur, dropped four players from the 3rd test, which included vice-captain Shane Watson, along with

James Pattinson James Lee Pattinson (born 3 May 1990) is an Australian cricketer. Pattinson is considered an aggressive fast bowler. After making his Test cricket debut in late 2011, he played Test and limited overs cricket for the Australia national cricket t ...

Mitchell Johnson Mitchell Guy Johnson (born 2 November 1981) is a former Australian cricketer, who played all forms of the game for his national side. He is a left-arm fast bowler and left-handed batsman. He made his Test debut for Australia in November 2007 ...

and

Usman Khawaja Usman Tariq Khawaja ( ur, ; born 18 December 1986) is an Australian cricketer who represents Australia and Queensland. Khawaja made his first-class cricket debut for New South Wales in 2008 and played his first international match for Austral ...

for failing to make a presentation on team performance. Watson had subsequently flown back to Australia due to the birth of his first child. Michael Clarke and coach

Mickey Arthur John Michael Arthur (born 17 May 1968) is a South African-Australian cricket coach, commentator and former cricketer, who played in South African domestic cricket from 1986 to 2001. He has served as the head coach of the Derbyshire County Crick ...

were severely criticized and ridiculed by the public, media and former players for such a silly decision. Watson returned to the team for the fourth and final test of the series, and captained the test side (due to an injury to Clarke) for the only time in his career. After the tour, Watson resigned as vice-captain, while Cricket Australia sacked Mickey Arthur as coach and stripped Michael Clarke as a selector in the following weeks. Shane Watson was named as one of the members of Australia's 15-man World Cup squad on 11 January 2015. He played in all but one of Australia's World Cup matches, as Australia went on to win the tournament. Watson had a disappointing start to his World Cup campaign, dismissed for a first ball

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form ...

in Australia's first match of the tournament against

, and dismissed for 23 against

in a losing effort. As a result of his poor form, Watson was dropped for Australia's match against

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...

, and was replaced by James Faulkner. However, he was reinstated for Australia's next match against

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, scoring 67 off 41 balls, and taking 1/71 off 7 overs as Australia prevailed by 64 runs. In Australia's final group stage match, against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, Watson scored 24 runs from 23 balls and took 1/18 off three overs as Australia defeated Scotland by 7 wickets and qualified for the knockout stage. In Australia's quarter final match against

, Watson was on the receiving end of a memorable fierce bowling spell from Wahab Riaz, a spell which won Riaz plaudits from numerous cricketers past and present , with Michael Clarke referring to Riaz's performance 'as good as I've faced in ODI cricket for a long time' and

Kevin Pietersen Kevin Peter Pietersen (born 27 June 1980) is a cricket commentator, conservationist, and former England international cricket player. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional off spin bowler who played in all three formats for England bet ...

describing the spell as the "Best spell of bowling by a foreigner on Aussie soil for years". After being dropped by

Rahat Ali Rahat Fateh Ali Khan (Punjabi, ; born 9 December 1974) is a Pakistani Singer, primarily of Qawwali, a form of Sufi devotional music. Khan is one of the biggest and highest paid singers in Pakistan. He is the nephew of Nusrat Fateh Ali ...

at square leg at 4 runs, Watson went on to score 64 not out from 66 balls as Australia recorded a 6 wicket victory with 97 balls to spare. Watson played in Australia's 95 run semi-final victory over

, with Watson scoring 28 runs from 30 balls. Watson played in the 2015 Cricket World Cup Final, scoring 2 not out as Australia prevailed over New Zealand by 7 wickets, winning their fifth Cricket World Cup as a result. On 31 January 2016, Watson was named T20I captain and became one of the few Australians to captain in all formats, he opened the innings after a long gap and scored 124*, which made several records, including becoming the first Australian batsman to score a century in all three formats of the game.Updated, Aprameya C. (31 January 2016
The records that Watson set
Oneindia.com. Retrieved on 26 May 2018. He retired from international cricket in 2016 and became the last player to retire from Australia's golden era of the early 2000s. He was named Australia's T20 International Player of the Year on 23 January 2017. In November 2019, he was elected as the President of the

Australian Cricketers' Association The Australian Cricketers' Association (ACA) is an organisation that represents the professional first-class cricketers of Australia, both past and present. It is not a formally registered Trade Union, but an Incorporated Association. Current adm ...

T20 franchise cricket

Watson played for Rajasthan Royals in seven of the first eight seasons of the

, signing for the side for the inaugural IPL season in 2008. He was the Player of the Tournament during the season, but missed the second season whilst on international duty. In 2013 he scored his first Twenty20 century playing against

Chennai Super Kings Chennai Super Kings (CSK) is an Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise cricket team based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Founded in 2008, the team plays its home matches at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The team is owned by India ...

, scoring 101 runs from 61 balls, hitting six fours and six sixes. He again won the Player of the Tournament in 2013. He captained the side in 2014 and was the highest-paid overseas player. After the suspension of Rajasthan for two season, he played for

Royal Challengers Bangalore Royal Challengers Bangalore (often abbreviated as RCB) are a franchise cricket team based in Bangalore, Karnataka, that plays in the Indian Premier League (IPL). It was founded in 2008 by United Spirits and named after the company's liquor ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

. He captained the side for some matches during the 2017 season but was signed by

for the following season. He scored his third and fourth IPL centuries during the 2018 season, and remained with the side in 2019, losing the 2019 final. He played his final IPL season in 2020 for Chennai. Watson signed with Australian

Big Bash League The Big Bash League (known as the KFC Big Bash League for sponsorship reasons, often abbreviated to BBL or Big Bash) is an Australian professional club Twenty20 cricket league, which was established in 2011 by Cricket Australia. The Big Bash Le ...

franchise Sydney Thunder in 2015 and was a member of the team that won the BBL that season. He was the captain of the team. He played for the side until the end of the 2018/19 season. In 2016 Watson was announced as one of the icon players for the first season of the

Pakistan Super League The Pakistan Super League (PSL) is a professional Twenty20 cricket league contested during February and March of every year by six teams representing six cities of Pakistan. The league was founded on 9 September 2015 with five teams by the P ...

. He played for

Islamabad United Islamabad United ( ur, ) is a Pakistani professional Twenty20 franchise cricket team that competes in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). It was the inaugural champion of the Pakistan Super League. The team is based in Islamabad, the capital ci ...

initially, moving to

Quetta Gladiators Quetta Gladiators ( Urdu, Balochi: ; Pashto: کویټه ګلیډیټرز) is a Pakistani professional Twenty20 cricket franchise that competes in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). They play most home games at the 27,000-capacity Gaddafi Stad ...

in subsequent seasons. The same year he was a marquee player in the

Caribbean Premier League The Caribbean Premier League (abbreviated to CPL or CPLT20) is an annual Twenty20 cricket tournament held in the Caribbean. It was founded by Cricket West Indies in 2013 to replace the Caribbean Twenty20 as the premier Twenty20 competition in ...

, playing in the league for two seasons.

Records

Twenty20 International

* Held the number one ICC ranking position for a record 150 weeks, including a record 120 consecutive weeks (13 Oct 2011All-Rounder Rankings on 13 Oct 2011
Relianceiccrankings.com. Retrieved on 26 May 2018. – 30 January 2014;All-Rounder Rankings on 30 Jan 2014
Relianceiccrankings.com. Retrieved on 26 May 2018.Full Rankings Graph of Shane Watson
Relianceiccrankings.com. Retrieved on 26 May 2018. * First player to have held the number one ranking in both the

batting Batting may refer to: *Batting (baseball), the act of attempting to hit a ball thrown by the pitcher with a baseball bat, in order to score runs *Batting (cricket), the act of defending one's wicket with the cricket bat while attempting to score ru ...

and

all-rounder An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a handful of batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are consi ...

category.ICC Rankings – Shane Watson.
Relianceiccrankings.com. * Only player to score a century and have taken four wickets in an innings.
Espncricinfo.com. Retrieved on 26 May 2018. * First player to score a hundred and take a wicket in the same T20I.Shane Watson Slams Maiden Twenty20 International Century in Sydney, Breaks Plethora of Records
Sports.ndtv.com (31 January 2016). Retrieved on 26 May 2018. * Most wickets, sixes by an Australian.

One Day International

* Fastest Australian to score 5000 runs and take 150 wickets. * Highest ODI score
Espncricinfo.com (11 April 2011). Retrieved on 26 May 2018. and most sixes in an innings, by an Australian.

Other

* First player to score a century and have taken four wickets in an innings in all forms of cricket. * First Australian to score international centuries in all three formats. * Fastest player to score 6,000 runs and take 200 wickets in Twenty20 matches; achieved in 249 matches. The only other player to achieve this did it in over 300 matches. * First player to win Australian "Player of the Year" award in all formats. Won seven such awards (3 ODI, 3 T20I, 1 Test), which is the most by any player. Also the only player to have won all five major awards.

Career best performances

Awards

Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year Awarded during the Australian Cricket Awards, the Allan Border Medal is considered to be the most prestigious individual prize in Australian men's cricket. First awarded in 2000, the medal is named after former Australian men's captain Allan Bor ...

: 2002 * Australian ODI Player of the Year: 2010, 2011, 2012 * Australian Twenty20 Player of the Year: 2012, 2013, 2017 * Australian Test Player of the Year: 2011 * Allan Border Medal: 2010, 2011 * McGilvray Medal 2010

Personal life

Watson is married to broadcaster Lee Furlong. They have two children. In 2017, Watson launched a sports clinic, ''Let’s Activate'', for children. It teaches the basics of sports skills, using songs, movement, dance and sports activities. Watson has his own

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosin ...

called ''Lessons Learnt with the Greats''.

International centuries

Watson scored 14 centuries in international cricket, four in Test matches, nine in ODIs and one in a Twenty20 International.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Shane Allan Border Medal winners Australia One Day International cricketers Australia Twenty20 International cricketers Australia Test cricket captains Australian Institute of Sport cricketers Brisbane Heat cricketers Canterbury cricketers Cricketers at the 2003 Cricket World Cup Cricketers at the 2007 Cricket World Cup Cricketers at the 2011 Cricket World Cup Cricketers at the 2015 Cricket World Cup Hampshire cricketers Living people New South Wales cricketers Rajasthan Royals cricketers Sportspeople from Ipswich, Queensland Queensland cricketers Sydney Sixers cricketers Tasmania cricketers 1981 births Islamabad United cricketers Quetta Gladiators cricketers Royal Challengers Bangalore cricketers Chennai Super Kings cricketers Saint Lucia Kings cricketers Sydney Thunder cricketers Rangpur Rangers cricketers Australia Test cricketers