Mumbai, Nov 10 After years of slipping in and out of the Australian team due to injuries, all rounder Shane Watson is finally content with his fitness which has allowed him to survive the grueling schedule of international cricket.

About nine players have broken down in the past three months, but Watson has been able to maintain his fitness and perform well as an opening batsman and as a second change bowler.

He has been the most consistent player in the India-Australia ODI series, which Australia has sealed with an unassailable 4-2 margin, with a game to play.

"Normally I'd be one of the first ones sent home in the previous couple of years. It's obviously very disappointing for everyone who does get injured because I know exactly what they're going through, but it is good to be one of the last men standing as well," The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Watson, as saying.

"I'm really confident the way things are going. This year of international cricket so far has been something I only ever really dreamt of - especially a couple of years ago, when it seemed playing such a long period of cricket seemed a long, long way away," he added.

In the calendar year, Watson has scored 1013 ODI runs at an average of 50.65, which ranks him behind teammates Ricky Ponting (1198 runs at 42.78) and Michael Hussey (1166 runs at 48.58) and Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (1019 runs at 67.93).

The 28-year-old further said he had been recently working on his batting with Greg Chappell, which has helped to improve his approach.

"It was probably a real big breakthrough, technically, to be able to score the runs I did there in Melbourne. From there, it's just been a progression. My batting has continued to develop, even better than I thought it would," Watson said. (ANI)