The Ashes 2013, 5th Test: Shane Watson owns England on Day One

Shane Watson in action during his knock of 176.

Before the start of the series, Mark Taylor said that Shane Watson’s form would be critical for Australia as he was the most experienced batsmen for Australia after Michael Clarke. He wanted Shane Watson to bat up the order, in order to shield the inexperienced middle order.

He opened the batting for Australia in the first three Tests, but didn’t manage to shine. He was pushed to No.6 in the fourth Test to give necessary freedom for him to bat. He scored a brilliant half-century, but failed to convert that into a big innings.

He and Chris Rogers were involved in a crucial partnership for the fifth wicket and they steadied the things well for Australia. However, after the dismissal of Watson, Australia completely lost the plot and gave England the advantage in first innings.

After the fourth Test, Shane Watson worked on lbw problems with Michael Clarke. Watson toiled hard in nets and received advice from Michael Clarke. Clarke advised Watson to play the ball as close as possible, and Watson did that today. He walked in at number three, and played a wonderful innings.

The pitch was dry, and was not offering much assistance for English pace bowlers, which Shane Watson cashed in on. He played some delightful shots – punch off the backfoot for four, beautiful cover drive off Anderson and a wonderful straight drive off Broad. He batted sensibly, and shared a constructive partnership of 107 runs with Chris Rogers for the second wicket.

Although Shane Watson’s generous form came too late for the Aussies, he handled the rejigged England attack very well. He didn’t attack Stuart Broad and Anderson, as they were hitting the deck consistently.

He targeted the two new customers – Chris Woakes and Simon Kerrigan. Chris Woakes had no idea of where to pitch the delivery on a helpless pitch. The ball was coming nicely onto the bat and Shane Watson made full use of it. Simon Kerrigan, who had an outstanding county championship, leaked 53 runs in his first eight overs.

Shane Watson brought up his third Test century in most convincing fashion when he drove Anderson through the cover region. It was a fantastic batting display from Watson on a flat pitch, and Australia will be hoping that he can replicate the same performance in the one-day series to avoid an embarrassing tour of England.

Steve Smith played a sheet anchor’s role and managed to stay at the crease till the end. His innings comprised of nine boundaries and a six.

Smith and Watson were involved in a crucial partnership of 145 runs for the fourth wicket to put Australia in a commanding position. The duo batted sensibly and did not do more than what was required at that stage.

Steve Smith realized the importance of the partnership and avoided taking risks against Anderson and Broad. He was quite happy to be at the non-striker’s end as Watson looked in terrific form. He kept the score-board ticking and forced Alastair Cook to think out-of-the-box.

Alastair Cook relied on his strike bowlers to deliver the goods. James Anderson and Stuart Broad were disciplined with their line and length in the initial overs. But they also leaked runs when Shane Watson and Steve Smith were dominating the game.

The first day belonged to Australia as they managed to post 307/4 in 90 overs. The pitch is still good for batting and if Australia can score in excess of 500 runs, then England’s batting would certainly be t