Australia v India 2014: Shane Watson is frustrating his fans, writes Allan Border

IT’S time for Shane Watson to get the monkey off his back and start batting for long periods of time and making big runs, writes Allan Border.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 26: Shane Watson of Australia leaves the field after being dismissed by Ravichandran Ashwin of India during day one of the Third Test match between Australia and India at Melbourne Cricket Ground on December 26, 2014 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

I’M a Shane Watson fan but I’ve become an extremely frustrated fan.

I am pulling my hair out, just like everyone else.

When ‘Watto’ is at his best he is just so brilliant that you think ‘wow’, I want more of this please.

But I must admit that maybe I have been a bit hoodwinked by those occasional flashes of brilliance.

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Next week will be the 10-year anniversary of Watto’s Test debut, way back in 2005.

In a decade of Test cricket he only has four centuries at a batting average of 35.

There have been bursts of good form but the consistency of performance that you really want just hasn’t been there.

Shane Watson looked in good touch before being dismissed for 52. Picture: Colleen Petch.

No-one can make a century every time they bat but you would like to think that when top-class players get an opportunity they will go on to make a really big score.

Unfortunately, Watto has teased us a lot with the bat and he did it again on Boxing Day. He looked set for a big century but was LBW again.

I’m not quite sure why he needed to be sweeping a ball that was hitting the stumps, when he could have been hitting straight down the ground and picking up ones and twos.

The incredibly frustrating thing about Watto is that we all know the talent is there. And that is why he is still playing Test cricket for Australia.

Plenty of other blokes might not have been afforded the opportunities that he has, because deep down you know he deserves to be in Australia’s top 11 players.

But it is time for him to get the monkey off his back and start batting for long periods of time and making big runs.

Watto is 33 and if he isn’t careful he is going to run out of time to show us what he can do.

If he starts making big centuries he will find it so much easier because, with the pressure off, he will be able to bat with much more freedom.

At the end of the day, Test cricket is a performance-based game. If Watto doesn’t start really performing, he is going to find there are more and more players nipping at his heels for his spot in the side.

To be honest, I’m not sure what Watto’s problems have been in fulfilling the huge talent we all know he has. But I do get the feeling that he tends to plant his front foot and it goes to the same place all the time.

I’M really looking forward to catching up with my old mate Sir Viv Richards in Brisbane this weekend.

Viv is here with the Melbourne Stars and I’m sure we will chew the fat over a beer or two after the Big Bash game against my Brisbane Heat at the Gabba on Sunday night.

Our playing days are long gone but we always enjoy reminiscing about the good old days.

I have a strong feeling I will have bragging rights over Viv because I’m expecting the Heat to extinguish the Stars.

Sir Viv Richards is a mentor with BBL team Melbourne Stars. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

I can’t be too critical about the Heat’s opening loss to the Sydney Thunder because we just ran into two of the best players ever.

Mike Hussey is like a bottle of Penfold’s Grange — you just put him in the cellar and he’s going to get better and better.

He got the Thunder going and then Jacques Kallis found his power game as well. It hurts you when one batsman scores 90 in T20 cricket — and it destroys you when two batsmen make 90.

Originally published as Australia v India 2014: Shane Watson is frustrating his fans, writes Allan Border