Shane Robert Watson (born 17 June 1981) is an Australian cricket coach, commentator and former cricketer who played for and occasionally captained the Australian national cricket team between 2002 and 2016. He was an all-rounder who played as a right-handed batsman and a right-arm fast-medium bowler. He was ranked as the world's No. 1 all-rounder in Twenty20 Internationals (T20I) for 150 weeks, including an all-time record of 120 consecutive weeks from 13 October 2011 to 30 January 2014. He began playing during the Australian team's golden era in the early 2000s, and was the last player from this era to retire. In his time playing for Australia, Watson was part of their winning squad in the Cricket World Cup two times in 2007, and 2015 along with the ICC Champions Trophy twice in 2006 and 2009, with Watson named as the player of the match in the final on both occasions, as he scored the winning run in the 2006 tournament, with the winning six in the 2009 tournament.
Watson also played Twenty20 cricket for a number of leagues around the world, including the Indian Premier League (IPL). He was named the player of the tournament in the IPL twice (in 2008 and 2013) and won the tournament twice (in 2008 and 2018). He continued to play in Twenty20 leagues after his retirement from international cricket in 2016, and retired from all forms of cricket in 2020.
Watson was raised in Ipswich, Queensland. For his education he attended St Marys Primary School and Ipswich Grammar School. He began playing cricket at an early age and represented Queensland Primary Schools in an interstate championship in Darwin in 1993. He began playing club cricket in Ipswich for the local Brothers club, then played Brisbane Grade Cricket for Eastern Suburbs. He represented the state at both under-17s level (in 1996/97) and under-19s level (in 1997/98, 1998/99, and 1999/00), and ultimately represented Australia in the 2000 Under-19 Cricket World Cup.
Watson was an AIS Australian Cricket Academy scholarship holder in 2000. Before 2000, players who were part of the academy were required to play cricket in their home states in the following year, but a rule change that year made Watson a free agent, and he chose to move to Hobart, Tasmania where he was guaranteed an immediate place in the Tasmanian state team. He played for Tasmania in the second half of the 2000–01 Sheffield Shield season, making his way up the order from batting at number 7 on debut to batting at number 4 at season's end. In half a season he scored 309 runs at an average of 51.50, including his maiden first-class century in his fifth match, and took 11 wickets at an average of 26.27. At the end of the season he signed a three-year contract with Tasmania.
Watson was first selected for the Australian team in early 2002, being selected to tour South Africa with the Test team. He had topped the Pura Cup wicket-taking charts for Tasmania, as well as had steady middle-order batting performances. On the tour, he played a tour match against the South Africa A team, where he scored a quickfire century off of 96 deliveries and took three wickets. Watson also made his ODI debut on tour, replacing Steve Waugh, who was sacked after the team failed to make the finals of the 2001–02 VB Series.
Watson continued as a regular member of the ODI team in place of Waugh despite public support for Waugh to return to the ODI team. He stayed in the team until the start of 2003, when he suffered three stress fractures in his back, meaning he missed the 2003 Cricket World Cup. When he returned to cricket from his injury, he was only able to bat, not bowl, while his recovery finished.
Watson was contracted with Hampshire to play county cricket in 2004. He signed as a replacement player, as Hampshire knew that their two international players (Shane Warne and Michael Clarke) would be unavailable for part of the season while they played for Australia. In April 2004, Watson also switched teams in domestic cricket, moving back to his home state to play for Queensland.
In January 2005, Watson made his test debut in the third Test of Australia's home series against Pakistan at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). Watson was played as Australia's fifth bowler, giving them the ability to play three fast bowlers (including Watson) and two spin bowlers (instead of the usual one) on a dry pitch that was expected to be conducive to spin bowling.
Watson was part of Australia's ODI squad in their 2005 tour of England. While on the tour, the Australian team spent a night in Lumley Castle in County Durham. The castle is believed to be haunted, and Watson was "spooked out" by his room so fled and spent the night sleeping on the floor in teammate Brett Lee's room instead. Australian selectors included Watson as the fifth bowler and all rounder in all Test matches following the 2005 Ashes series. Watson played against the ICC World XI in the role, but he dislocated his shoulder in just his second Test in that designated role against the West Indies, after diving to field a ball. Watson was again replaced by Symonds and was unable to represent Australia for the remainder of the summer.
This changed when Watson opened the batting for Australia at the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy, alongside wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist, instead of Simon Katich. After failing in the first two matches against the West Indies and England, Watson made a 50 in Australia's victory over India, which sealed their place in the semi-finals, he then took 2 wickets and scored 57 not out in the finals to seal the win. In the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy held in South Africa, Watson again played a prominent role, making two consecutive 100s against England and New Zealand in semi-final and final, helping Australia to defend their title.
Watson was named in the squad for the 2006–07 Ashes series against England. However, he came off the ground in a one-day domestic game the week before the first Test with a suspected hamstring tear, which ruled him out for the first three Tests.
Watson had expected to be fit for the Boxing Day Test, however, another injury setback in a match for Queensland ruled Watson out for the rest of the Ashes series. Watson eventually returned in February to the ODI team, replacing Cameron White in the all rounder position, However he again broke down with injury during the 29th match of 2007 Cricket World Cup and missed two matches of the Super 8's before returning in fine style scoring an unbeaten 65 off 32 balls against New Zealand. Injury again struck Watson in the early stages of the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 as he missed most of the tournament due to hamstring strain. He was then out of action for the 2007–08 Australian season.
After Symonds was omitted from the Australian team for disciplinary reasons, Watson took the all rounder's position for the tour of India in late 2008, batting at No. 6. During the Third Test in Delhi, he was involved in a series of confrontations with Indian opener Gautam Gambhir, who scored a double century and reached his century by lofting Watson over wide long-on for six.
After returning to Australia, Symonds was recalled to the Test team and both all rounders played in the First Test against New Zealand in Brisbane. As the pitch was a green, rain-affected moist surface expected to favour seamers, spinner Jason Krejza was dropped to accommodate two seam bowling all rounders. After the match, which Australia won, Watson was dropped as spinner Nathan Hauritz was included and Symonds retained. At the end of the year, Watson suffered a stress fracture of the back. Watson returned to international duty in the ODI series against Pakistan in the UAE, scoring a century.
He returned to the Australian Test team for the 3rd Ashes Test match at Edgbaston on 30 July 2009 as an opener. In a rain interrupted match he made 62 and 53 batting alongside Simon Katich. He scored his second highest Test score of 96 against the West Indies in the Second Test in Adelaide in December 2009. He and Katich put on a century stand and he had reached 96 at stumps, only to inside edge his first ball of the next morning onto his stumps while attempting to hit a boundary to reach his century. In the Third Test, he made 89 in another century stand with Katich. In the second innings, he removed opposition captain Chris Gayle and then charged towards him, screaming in celebration directly in front of him. This earned him a fine from the match referee.