How Watson went into his biggest Test like a lemming

SHANE WATSON will be tested during next month's Test series in India, but nothing will match the nerves of his first innings as an Australian opener when he had the commitment of a lemming who, despite the dire consequences, still marches off the cliff.

"I was as nervous as I'd ever been," recalled Watson of his initiation as an opener during last year's Ashes series in England. "I had no successful game plan behind me, and I didn't know what was going to work. I also don't think the people at the ground expected anything either because, to be brutally honest, I didn't expect much of me."

Watson was advised of his possible promotion before the third Test at Edgbaston when, with Australia 1-0 down, his captain Ricky Ponting asked him for a coffee to reveal he had been earmarked as the player most likely to replace Phillip Hughes … as opener.

t's not known if Watson dropped his tea spoon or spilt his cappuccino over Ponting, but his heart definitely skipped a beat as he immediately recalled six miserable innings as Queensland's opener before he was banished down the order after averaging 4.67. ''Everyone expected me to fail because my previous experience as an opener was horrific," he said. "The good thing though was I didn't feel any pressure at Edgbaston; none at all because there was none - I was in a foreign position and no one thought I'd do well.''

'Playing opener seems to really suit my technique, my personality and my game, and that's big surprise because I have always been a middle-order batsman."

The only bigger surprise, says Watson, is feeling as if he is finally fulfilling his potential after being sidelined by a series of cruel injuries, which included stress fractures in his back, strained hamstrings, calf and hip problems, and a dislocated shoulder. "I'd see little glimpses at times, whether it was domestically for Tasmania, Queensland or even Australia in one-day cricket," he said of his potential. "I always thought if I had a crack at it it'd be interesting to see where I could take my game.'' Last summer was "crucial" in his development, and public acceptance, as a Test player. It allowed him to package those "little glimpses" into something extraordinary. Now he has to back it up.