ST GEORGE'S/GRENADA: Australia all-rounder Shane Watson will return against New Zealand in Friday's Super Eights match at the Grenada National Stadium after missing the world champions' last three matches with a left calf injury, captain Ricky Ponting has announced.
He takes the place of batsman Brad Hodge in what Ponting indicated on Thursday was Australia's first choice team.
Both Australia and New Zealand are already through to the semi-finals but Friday's match was seen as a make-or-break encounter for Watson, whose career has been blighted by injuries, in terms of his future participation at this World Cup. "He's straight back into the side, he's done everything that's been asked of him in the last couple of weeks really with all his rehab work," Ponting said of 25-year-old Queensland pace bowler and middle-order batsman Watson.
"Certainly his training the last four or five days, he's had quite a few good bowling spells under his belt. The most impressive one was yesterday (Wednesday) when he bowled five overs at 100 per cent."
Ponting said the fact Watson was fully fit meant Australia avoided a selection dilemma.
"If he hadn't impressed as much as he did yesterday, it would have been a little bit tougher," said the captain.
"He's good, he feels good about it himself as well and obviously he's very excited to be back. He's worked his backside off over the last couple of weeks, every day."
Asked if Watson's return meant Australia were now fielding the XI they wanted to win an unprecedented third straight World Cup title, Ponting replied: "It would be pretty close to it.
"I've made it pretty clear right the way through I didn't want to be making too many changes to the team and, touch wood, we've only had the one little injury, which was Watson
"The other guys have looked after themselves very well and now it's important we do that in the next week and a half and, more importantly, play some great cricket.
"What you've seen so far from this team is a team that is very capable of winning a World Cup if they all perform somewhere near their best," Ponting said of an Australia side defending a 26-game unbeaten run in World Cup competition stretching back to 1999.
Watson, whose presence gives Australia a genuine fifth option in their attack, sustained a calf strain while bowling against Bangladesh in Antigua on March 31.
In this tournament he has scored 77 runs in four unbeaten innings and taken one wicket for 99 runs.
Watson has played just three Tests, injuring his shoulder in his third Test appearance in Brisbane in November 2005 against West Indies. He made his one-day international debut in 2002 but his 62-game career in the shorter format has also been interrupted by injuries.
Chosen for the 2003 World Cup squad, he withdrew because of a back problem and had to pull out of Australia's one-day squad that toured Bangladesh 12 months ago because of a right calf strain sustained while making 201 in the domestic Pura Cup final.
He then missed the whole of Australia's recent 5-0 Ashes hammering of England with a hamstring strain.
Friday's match is both teams last in the Super Eights. Australia are set to play South Africa in Wednesday's second semi-final in St Lucia, with New Zealand on course to face Sri Lanka 24 hours earlier in Jamaica.
