SHANE WATSON does not want to be used as a fix for Australia's middle-order malaise, and has implored team management not to dislodge him from the top of the order.
Watson told senior figures within the Australian set-up that he sees his future as an opener, but stressed he had not been asked to move to prop up deficiencies elsewhere.
''I would be putting forward a very strong case to stay at the top of the order and, to be totally honest, I have in the last three or four months. That is exactly where I do want to bat,'' Watson told the Herald.
Watson's strong stance highlights the difficulty selectors face in convincing the 29-year-old the team would be better served with him at five or six in place of either Michael Hussey or Marcus North, who are under pressure to retain their place for this summer's Ashes.
So far, the numbers have done the talking for Watson, who has averaged 50.44 in 14 matches since being reincarnated as an opener in England last year. In that time, he and Simon Katich have opened together 24 times and passed 50 on 11 occasions. Their average of 56.5 compares favourably to the Hayden-Langer and Taylor-Slater combinations, though those pairs had longevity on their side.
Watson accepted he was also to blame and needed to convert more half-centuries into hundreds. ''That's what the best players in the world do and that's where I'm aspiring to develop my game to,'' he said.
Watson has 11 half-centuries next to his name but has registered three figures just twice with a top score of 126. ''The big hundreds, a lot of those times can be the difference in the game,'' he said. ''It sounds very simple but … the most important thing is really having a clear mind.''
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