Allrounder Shane Watson will unleash his power-packed game on the World XI after being dubbed the missing piece in the puzzle for the Australian team.

Test captain Ricky Ponting felt his side had lacked a player of Watson's versatility in its failed Ashes campaign before the big Queenslander was named for the one-off Super Test at the SCG.

The 24-year-old's sizzling form in Australia's 3-0 win in the one-day Super Series convinced selectors he was ready to challenge the best players in the world in just his second Test outing.

His elevation continues the steady sprinkling of youth into the national team after drafting in batsman Michael Clarke and paceman Shaun Tait in the past 12 months.

Watson has stated that he wanted to become Australia's version of damaging allrounder England's Andrew Flintoff and he gets an opportunity to prove himself against the Ashes tormentor over six days starting on Friday.

He has been named to bat at No.6 in front of Adam Gilchrist in a show of faith for his skills with the willow.

Ponting believed his former Tasmanian teammate was ready to make a big impact on the international scene.

"I think he will give us some very handy overs that we were probably looking for at different times during the Ashes series, so I think he is a tremendous young player that is almost ready to make his mark on the international game," Ponting said.

There were eyebrows raised when Watson was named to make his Test debut against Pakistan in January this year, but there are no doubts he deserved his spot this time around.

Ponting felt Watson had shown that he had matured as a cricketer.

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