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SHANE Watson has become a fortunate beneficiary of Australia's cricketing resurgence.
Had Australia been one down in the series he would be facing mounting pressure to retain his place in the side after making just 22, 6, 51, 0 and 18 in this summer's Ashes.
But one of the joys of having a winning team is that you can carry out-of-form players and the pressure on the selectors is to conjure stability not change.
So Watson lives on as Australia's great cricketing enigma.
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Watson's failure on Friday took his Test average to just over 35.
As good as he is when the planet's align, someone with that average should not be holding the number three spot for Australia in modern Test cricket.
It is not a case of he should be batting down the list because the stats show us the further down he bats the less he scores.
In 13 Tests in the last 12 months Watson has averaged around 30 and even with his handy bowling that is less than a pass mark.
If he was a 22-year-old you might get away with calling it an investment for better days in a Steve Waugh sort of way because all-rounders traditionally take time to develop.
But the trouble is he is a 32-year-old who should be in the prime of his career.
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Yesterday Watson fell in familiar fashion, sparring at one he should have left, edging high to the glue-fingered Graeme Swann at second slip who took the ball with both feet off the ground.
It was one of those shots that would have sailed harmlessly to third man had this been a white ball game and the slips area was near vacant.
But Test cricket demands more scrupulous radar and Watson's has been scrambling all series.
His dismissal was not a mortal sin.
Edges behind or to the slips comprise the lion's share of wickets at this pepper-decked venue.
But it was part of England's plan for him.
The press box at the WACA is located at the side of the ground and it gives you the chance to appreciate that a significant feature of Watson's technique is that he moves forward to almost every ball he faces.
The England team celebrates the dismissal of Shane Watson. AFP PHOTO / GREG WOOD Source: AFP
England know this so they try and drop the ball a fraction short to him in the hope he will reach for balls that will fool and foil him as they rise from just short of a length.
They want him driving on the up and are happy to see the odd half volley whistle to the cover fence in the knowledge that his commitment to thse sorts of strokes could eventually trigger his demise.
This plan has done the trick in Adelaide and Perth.
Planning for Michael Clarke is more difficult for England because his nimble footwork takes him forward or back so quickly he transforms the length of the ball to area where he wants it to be.
Watson has only bowled 11 overs in the series but his canny medium pace should get more exposure here with the famous Fremantle Doctor breeze enhancing the potency of his outswinger.
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