Watson to be back on Friday

Australia allrounder Shane Watson is recovering from a calf injury and will likely be fit to return for his team’s final World Cup Super 8s match against New Zealand. Watson was injured in Antigua on March 31 in a crushing 10-wicket win over Bangladesh and hasn’t played since.

Captain Ricky Ponting said Sunday that Watson was performing at about 70 per cent in training. Although he would sit out Monday’s game against Sri Lanka, he was almost certain to return on Friday.

“He’s moving really freely in the nets and he’s on track for things as planned,” Ponting said.