At the time of his death aged 98, Watkins was the oldest living Test cricketer and the last surviving member of the side that toured Australasia in 1952–53.

[3] He played two Tests against Australia in South Africa in 1949–50, but was unable to get leave to go on the tour of England in 1951.

[8] Christopher Martin-Jenkins described Watkins as "a right-handed batsman with a fine range of scoring strokes – his batting, like the man himself, was cavalier and joyous".

[3] He suffered from mild deformities of the hips and lower back from birth, which eventually required five operations after he retired from playing cricket.

[1][2] Following the death of Lindsay Tuckett on 5 September 2016, Watkins became the oldest living Test cricketer.