Watson faces fitness test on calf

Shane Watson will know his immediate World Cup future when he tests his injured calf in a training session in the West Indies on Tuesday. Australia have been debating whether Watson could wait to return in a high-pressure semi-final, but the preferred option is for him to be ready for their last Super Eights game against New Zealand on Friday.

After batting in the nets last week, Watson began running at the weekend and will need to prove he is on track during a bowling session in Grenada. Alex Kountouris, the team physiotherapist, said the goal was to have him ready for New Zealand.

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

Australia are desperate to have Watson return as his all-round skills give the side greater balance. Ricky Ponting said the selectors would prefer Watson played before the semi-finals, but there was still the option to increase his practice load.

"We can monitor him pretty closely in all the training that he does," Ponting said in The Australian. "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."