Watson excited over unexpected recall

Shane Watson didn't see it coming. Stationed in Johannesburg with the Rajasthan Royals, the Australian allrounder was caught completely off-guard when Michael Brown, Cricket Australia's operations manager, phoned on Wednesday to inform him of his recall to the national squad for the one-day tour of Pakistan.

Watson had identified the IPL as the platform from which to continue his comeback from back stress fractures. From there, he hoped to steadily increase his bowling workload throughout April and May and, should all have gone to plan, to catch the attention of Australia's selectors ahead of the ICC World Twenty20 in June.

The selectors, however, have opted for a faster track. Chosen as a specialist batsman, Watson will almost certainly be restored to the top of the Australian one-day order - the position he held down throughout last year's West Indies tour - alongside the recalled Shaun Marsh in the UAE. That has resulted in a major alteration to Watson's comeback blueprint, and his immediate travel schedule.

"I wasn't counting on it at all," Watson told Cricinfo. "I only arrived in South Africa on Monday night, and was looking ahead to the couple of practice games coming up for Rajasthan in the next few days. Now it looks like I'll probably only be here for a week or so before I fly to Dubai.

"Things have moved faster than I expected. I have spoken with the owner and the coach (of Rajasthan) and they are disappointed that I won't be available for them for a while, but very excited for me. They know that to get back into the Australian side and play international cricket is my ultimate objective. I will still be available for two weeks after returning from Dubai. Hopefully Rajasthan can make it through to the finals, so I can extend my time with them for as long as I can."

In all, Watson has opened the batting for Australia 15 times in one-day internationals, and in each of his last seven innings. He made a significant breakthrough last year with his first international century - a powerful 126 against West Indies in Grenada - and along with Marsh forged a combination Ricky Ponting, the Australian captain, had hoped would endure through to the next World Cup.

Injuries to both batsmen scuppered those plans in recent series against New Zealand and South Africa, and the makeshift combination of Michael Clarke and Brad Haddin have struggled for consistency. That opened the door for both Watson and Marsh to earn national recalls, as Australia seek to setlle upon a batting line-up ahead of the World Twenty20.

But Australia's gain is the IPL's loss. Watson, the Player of the Tournament, and Marsh, the highest run-scorer, were among the IPL's brightest lights in 2008, and figured prominently in their respective franchises' plans this year. Such is his star power after last season's performance, Marsh was chosen to travel to America last month for an IPL promotion featuring Manny Ramirez, one of Major League Baseball's biggest names. Now, he is likely to figure only in the final fortnight of the tournament.

"The hamstring has been fine for a while now," Marsh told AAP. "I've been running and doing my rehab for two months. I thought I was fit (for Australia's tour of South Africa) but obviously the selectors thought otherwise. It's something I've had to live with. I was disappointed at the time but I kind of understood the reasons. I've had an extra three or four weeks now to get myself 110% right and I'm looking forward to the series."

Just what role, if any, Watson's bowling will play in the UAE remains unclear. His initial plan was to commence competitive bowling in May, and then only in the four-over allotments of the IPL. Watson will meet with Alex Kountouris, the Australian team physiotherapist, in South Africa in the coming days to map out new strategy, but it seems unlikely he will be used in longer spells against Pakistan.

"That structure and schedule I had in mind is obviously going to change a bit now in terms of my bowling," he said. "I certainly won't be pushing it in trying to get to ten overs. The plan was to slowly build up the bowling over May, but I'm not quite sure how that will work out now."