Clear Watto's head before his leg

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Mental demons ... Shane Watson's lbw curse is fixable according to teammates. Source: Gareth Copley / Getty Images

SHANE Watson's lbw curse is fixable but the key may be clearing his head rather than his front leg.

Watson's Brisbane Heat teammates Mitchell Johnson, James Hopes and Chris Hartley, who have played with or against Watson since his teenage years, all feel the batting engima's problems can be quickly solved.

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Watson has been trapped lbw in his past three Test innings in the Ashes and there is a grim sense of foreboding when he enters his danger zone between 20 and 50 with English bowlers targeting his front pad which is exposed by an early defensive lunge.

"I think there is something going on in his head because we have seen how a good a player he is,'' Hartley said.

"It is probably a small technical thing that has become bigger in his head than what it really is. Usually it is something like his head falling across to the off-side a little bit.

"Perhaps there is something there his coaches might look at like keeping his head still and eyes level. The pressure of the Ashes has made it bigger than it is.

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"I suppose the way his innings are going are a bit like the way his career has gone.

"He has shown so much promise but he has never become the world beater people thought he could be. Having played with him as a junior I think he could still become one of the best all-rounders the game has seen.''

Johnson, confirmed as a Heat starter for the new Big Bash season along with English batsman-wicketkeeper Craig Kieswetter, believes the issue is more mental than technical for Watson who has been rested from a tour game against Sussex.

"It has been hard to sit back and listen to all the talk about him getting lbw and hitting across the line,'' Johnson said.

"It is all about enjoyment to be honest. I don't know if I see anything technically wrong even though he has been getting hit on the pads.

"When I bowl to him in the nets I try to set him up with that ball swinging into his pads to get him edging the big drive with the one angled across him. When's he's on, he's on. He is an aggressive player but he has to keep that concentration.

"With Boof Lehmann there as coach he will bring that into the team and that will help him.''

Hopes said the quality of Anderson, who dismissed Watson in his most recent innings, should not be underestimated.

"It is a bit technical but it is also the quality of Anderson who can also expose him,'' Hopes said.

"It is a bit like Glenn McGrath who did that to certain players around the world. It is a tough match-up for Shane but I heard the other night Jimmy said he was the toughest opening batsman he had bowled against so Shane should take some confidence from that.

"The fact that Shane is not playing the next game is probably Darren Lehmann realising he may need a bit of work on where his front foot is landing and you can't do that when you are playing a tour game. If I was talking to Shane I would be taking the positives out of the fact I had never seen an opener get to 20 better than he does.

"I think he can get to the stage where he reached 20 or 30 and then puts too much pressure on himself. He bats beautifully for the first five to 10 overs. I still think he is the best opener we have got and the second best player in the team.''

Brisbane Heat: Nick Buchanan, Joe Burns, Dan Christian, Ben Cutting, Peter Forrest, Cameron Gannon, Ryan Harris, Chris Hartley, Nathan Hauritz, James Hopes, Mitchell Johnson, Craig Kieswetter, Chris Lynn, Alister McDermott, Luke Pomersbach, Daniel Vettori, Shane Watson.

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