Watson has a key role with bat and ball for Australia

Watson suffered a hamstring injury last weekend but physio Alex Kountouris said he had "recovered sufficiently" to be allowed to travel.

It is not yet known, however, when Watson will be fit to play a match.

Kountouris added that he was joining the team "with a view towards playing at some stage" during the tournament, which starts next Tuesday.

Watson, 26, has been dogged by injury problems over the past year.

He missed the entire Ashes series against England last winter because of a previous hamstring problem and then had to sit out the early stages of the World Cup in the Caribbean after suffering a calf muscle tear.

But his departure for South Africa means Australia will soon be at full strength.

Seam bowler Stuart Clark has joined the squad after delaying his departure because his son was ill and only skipper Ricky Ponting is now absent.

Ponting has revealed that worries about his wife's health was the reason for the decision to allow him to stay at home when the rest of the players flew to South Africa on Monday.