Watson asks Oz cricketers to overcome England ODI rout and focus on Ashes

Sydney, Aug 11 (ANI): Australia's vice captain Shane Watson has asked his fellow cricketers to start putting their England one-day disappointment behind them and focus on what lies ahead.

Speaking at the Australian camp in Darwin ahead of limited-overs clashes with Afghanistan and Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates, Watson conceded the hurt of the 4-0 series defeat in England was still raw.

Keeping an eye on next year's back-to-back Ashes campaigns, Watson said the team must use their coming contests to focus on ensuring they are vastly improved the next time they face their old rivals.

"Obviously we're very disappointed about the result in England in the one-day series. Now's the time to really regroup and spend the time working on the deficiencies we've got as individuals and within the team. It's a great time to get that coming together," Watson told reporters.

He said the trip to the Middle East, which features a lone ODI against Afghanistan before three ODIs and three T20s against Pakistan, was the start of a crucial period for the team.

The T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka, domestic tours against South Africa and Sri Lanka and then a Test series in India follow that tour, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

After that come the back-to-back Ashes series and Watson admitted it looms as a huge 18 months.

Watson said he was well on the road to making a full recovery from the calf injury which cut short his tour of England , but he's not planning on playing in either of the two practice matches scheduled for this week's camp in Darwin. (ANI)