Watson doesn't want to be disrespectful

Melbourne:

Stung by criticism of his behaviour during the recently-concluded Test series against the West Indies, Australian all-rounder Shane Watson has vowed never to repeat the "silly" actions in future.

Watson was widely criticised for his "manic celebration" after dismissing West Indies captain Chris Gayle during the Perth Test. He had defended himself immediately after the match but in hindsight, the imposing all-rounder said he would not repeat the behaviour again.

"I never wanted anything like that to happen," Watson told 'The Sunday Telegraph'.

"It was just raw emotion that came out of me. It was nothing that was planned. For me, I had to sit back and think, 'well, that was raw emotion and how am I going to control it next time?' The last thing I want is for it to happen again," he said.

"In the end, I got a lot of people offside, that's the last thing I wanted to do. I don't want to look silly and disrespectful to the opposition. I never want that to happen again. It's not an ideal situation, people commenting on me as a person (from that incident), and I know I'm continuing to develop as a person and cricketer in front of a national audience," he added.

The 28-year-old said he doesn't want his overall persona to be judged on the basis of his on-field behaviour.

"All they do is see me on the field and that's where they judge me as a person, no doubt. On the field I am extremely competitive, whereas off it I am a lot more laid back. A lot more chilled," Watson insisted.

The injury-prone cricketer said he takes refuge in music to deal with any troubling issues on and off the field.

"It's the best thing I've done in my life for a number of reasons. There was a time previous to that, that cricket was my whole and sole existence. I knew I needed some balance in my life.

"At times cricket was absolutely everything. I had nothing outside of cricket. I needed a way to escape from that. The music was something I absolutely loved. That's been a big part to me, to discover things outside my obsession with being the best cricketer I can possibly be," he revealed.

Recalling the tough times he faced while battling one injury setback after another, Watson said he counts himself lucky to have survived the period.

"I can see why people lost faith and at times I came close to losing faith myself. I've been very lucky to have a number of people that kept believing in me and knew I'd be able to achieve the things that I was hoping to achieve and that they saw in me. There's no doubt I have been very lucky," he said.