Watson might need to give up bowling - Buchanan

Shane Watson should consider giving up bowling in a bid to resume his stalled Test career, according to his former coach John Buchanan. Watson missed Australia's opening matches at the ICC World Twenty20 with a hamstring problem and again broke down with hamstring trouble in his first game.

Sitting on the sidelines is not new to Watson. He missed the entire Ashes series with hamstring injuries, the start of the Word Cup with a calf strain and has also dealt with back and shoulder problems during his international career. Buchanan said he hoped Watson did not have to become a specialist batsman but it might be the only way to keep him on the field.

"It's an avenue he's going to have to explore," Buchanan told the Sun-Herald. "You would hope it doesn't come to that for him. Everyone is feeling for him. He's a hard worker and does everything he can to get his body right. He's an intense character and he's only 26, so there are ten good years of cricket ahead of him."

Buchanan said Australia should consider using Watson as an opening batsman at Test level. Watson has expressed a strong interest in partnering Matthew Hayden at the top of the order but Phil Jaques and Chris Rogers are almost certainly ahead of him in the queue.

"There's no doubt he has the technical proficiency to open the batting at Test level," Buchanan said. "He's proved it in domestic cricket which, given the standard of our domestic competition, is a good barometer for Test cricket.

"Opening the batting would necessarily reduce the amount of bowling, if any, he'd have to do in the Test side. From that point of view, it would be a plus and ease his workload. You couldn't expect him to open the batting then bowl 20 overs in a day. But Shane is a talented bowler and I hope it's a path he doesn't have to take."

Buchanan said the regularity with which Watson would return from an injury only to break down again must erode his confidence. "He probably goes on the field hoping he's going to get through it okay," Buchanan said.

"You don't want to have those sort of thoughts at this level of sport. You have to have complete confidence in your fitness and your body. A big factor for him now will be how he deals with it all mentally."