Watson at the 'Crossroads'

Shane Watson’s current purple patch may have a lot to do with the Blues. With 722 runs in the 8 Tests where he’s opened, Shane Watson has been among Australia's most successful batsmen in recent series but to get there he’s had to overcome a string of injuries – including stress fractures, hamstring and calf problems. Staying away from the game wasn't easy but it was here that music, specifically the blues, became his therapy. A late starter – he apparently bought his first guitar at 24 – he’s making up for lost time and, when he’s not strumming the blues he’s reading up about the great artistes. "It's really been the music that hit home to me the most," Watson told The Daily Telegraph. "It's the best thing I've done in my life for a number of reasons. There was a time previous to that, that cricket was my whole and sole existence. I knew I needed some balance in my life. At times cricket was absolutely everything. I had nothing outside of cricket. That's been a big part to me, to discover things outside my obsession with being the best cricketer I can possibly be." His current favourite is the Clapton standard Crossroads, a fitting song for someone whose career is set to take off.