Watson a chance for Pakistan match

Shane Watson could be fit for Australia's match against Pakistan on Tuesday but there is no guarantee he will be selected, according to the coach Tim Nielsen. Watson has spent the past week recovering from the hamstring soreness that kept him at home in Australia when most of the squad departed for South Africa a fortnight ago.

Alex Kountouris, the team's physio, said Watson's fitness was progressing. "He's improved very well," Kountouris told the Australian. "He bowled at about 70-80%. He's batting OK and he's running."

However Nielsen said there was no reason to rush Watson back into the team, especially after the side had two convincing wins against England and Bangladesh. "It depends which team we're playing and how people are going," Nielsen said. "If Watson were to come in it's hard to replace one of the batsmen because they're all playing quite well now and we haven't had a lot of cricket.

"You've got to give them some time. And the bowlers did a great job against England. It will really come down to balance and what we think we're going to need against the team we're playing at that time. More importantly, soon we'll be able to pick from our full squad so we don't have to be compromising our selection much longer, with a bit of luck, to get the strongest group we think match up best."

Australia originally had concerns over the fitness of Matthew Hayden and Michael Clarke but both players have overcome their problems to figure in Australia's ICC World Twenty20 campaign. That means Watson is the only member of the 15-man squad with question-marks remaining over his condition.