Watson set for fitness check

Profiles / Editor / 17 April 2007 / Leave a Comment

Shane Watson is set to have a fitness check on his calf strain before a decision is taken if he will be fit to play in Australia's final Super 8 game against New Zealand on Friday.

The Aussies would ideally like to have him ready for the showdown in Grenada, for which the defending champions find themselves favourites to maintain their 100 percent record in this World Cup, trading at 1.48, with the Black Caps available at 2.88.

Watson had some batting practice in the nets last week and started running at the weekend but will now need to prove the injury will stand up to the pressures of bowling.

Aussie team physio, Alex Kountouris, said they remained hopeful that he would be available for selection against the Kiwis.

Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, he said: "There are always risks with someone coming back from a muscle injury. Playing him in a Super 8s game if we're already through to the semi-final would represent a lower risk than playing him in a semi-final or final."

Skipper Ricky Ponting echoed those sentiments to The Australian newspaper, adding that they need to be completely sure that the all-rounder is firing on all cylinders before he is considered.

"We can monitor him pretty closely in all the training that he does," said Ponting. "If he doesn't for some reason come up for Friday, then we just have to make sure that if we think he is going to play in the semi, we have to push him as hard as we can in every training session leading into that game to know that he is 100% right."