Watson hopes to make South Africa tour

Shane Watson hopes to be fit in time to tour South Africa © Getty Images

Shane Watson, the Australian allrounder, has said that he hopes to be fit and available for selection for the tour of South Africa beginning in February 2006.

Watson had to undergo arthroscopic surgery after dislocating his shoulder in the first Test against West Indies at Brisbane and was subsequently ruled out of the remaining Tests against West Indies and the home series against South Africa in December.

He also said that he wanted to play for Queensland before the tour of South Africa. "Hopefully I can get back and play a few games before that tour gets picked, that's my goal at the moment," Watson told ABC Sport. "It's hard to really set a big goal because you never really know how it's going to progress. It could come back earlier or it might take a little bit longer, so you've just got to keep doing absolutely everything you can and hopefully South Africa is my goal."

Watson felt that Michael Clarke would soon reclaim his place in the Test team. "He's obviously been feeling a bit and hasn't been his fearless self, like he was when he first came onto the scene, so he'll definitely come back a bigger and better player. Everyone knows that and I'm sure once the dust settles with him, he'll definitely realise that it's a blessing in disguise."

Clarke, who was dropped from the squad for the third Test against West Indies because of a bad run of form, was replaced by Justin Langer, who has recovered from a broken rib he sustained in a domestic game. Mike Hussey and Brad Hodge have retained their places in the squad for the third Test at Adelaide after impressive performances in the second Test.