Johnson, Watson sent home

By Rahul Bajaj
for Cricketain.com

Published: November 11, 2009

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Mumbai: Cricket Australia has asked their frontline speedster Mitchell Johnson and in-form all-rounder Shane Watson to return home immediately so that they can get adequate rest before the Australian summer starts.

National Selection Panel chief Andrew Hilditch said that Johnson and Watson have handled a lot of workload in the last few months and they need rest to be ready for the busy summer season in Australia. “The NSP has decided Mitchell and Shane will depart India as soon as possible. Mitchell and Shane will return home to Australia to commence preparation for the three mobile Test series beginning in Brisbane on November 26 and the programme that follows,” Hilditch said in a statement.

Hilditch said that the decision was taken in view of the extremely heavy workload shouldered by the duo since the Twenty20 World Cup in May 2009, and the forthcoming Australian summer which includes six Test matches in eight weeks, ODI and Twenty20 series against the West Indies and Pakistan and a tour to New Zealand early next year.

Already, five Australian players — Brett Lee, James Hopes, Tim Paine, Moises Henriques and Peter Siddle — have returned home after picking up injuries during the course of the ongoing ODI series which the visitors have sealed in their favour with one match still to be played.

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