Watts asked to be released in 1966; but he was fit enough to set a new Northants County League record two years later, claiming 10–10 for Rushden against Kettering.
In the autumn of 1970, Northamptonshire faced the future without the services of Roger Prideaux, Brian Reynolds and Albert Lightfoot, and with Mushtaq Mohammad expected to miss a good part of the following summer on tour with Pakistan.
Another highlight before he resigned was the 59-run John Player League triumph over one-day specialists Lancashire in 1974; it was Watts' benefit match and he marked the occasion with 61 runs.
At the subsequent extraordinary general meeting, held just before Christmas, Watts took his place on the platform to face the members, some of whom had formed themselves into an action group to demand, at the very least, a full explanation of all the behind-the-scenes machinations.
He briefly joined the committee after his retirement and ruffled a few feathers with his support for Les Bentley, the head groundsman sacked in 1982 who unsuccessfully took the club to an industrial tribunal alleging unfair dismissal.