Two years ago, Sean Abbott was struggling to find an incentive to take his batting seriously.
Arriving as a big-hitting low-order player on the domestic scene who was good enough to bat ahead of Mitchell Johnson in his ODIs, Abbott found himself out at No. 11 for the NSW. One-time bowler Alara Ornder was also badly crushed. Knight Watchman for the Blues with Duties.
The dramatic fall of the order definitely died down and while Abbott never stopped working on his game, he praised his enthusiasm for batting.
“I don’t like to lose, so whenever I go there and make a duck or not a big score, it really hurts,” he says.
“The work was always done (but) I would be lying if I said there was always inspiration.
“When I was asked to become a night watchman and bat at nine and 10, you almost feel like you have to go out and start slogging so you can bowl.”
From then on, his rise as a batsman was as fast as his fall.
Today, Abbott was asked if he could see himself batting at No. 6 or 7 in Australia’s Test squad this summer, with his first-class hundreds scoring in the opening round of the Marsh Sheffield Shield. Batting 130 took on a score of 130. , Second only to Will Pukowski.
While Tests will begin this summer as a more realistic bowler, it is a measure of how far Abbott’s batting has come in two years and is part of Australia’s best dialogue.
After batting at No. 10 in the Shield Game in November 2018, behind Trent Copeland and ahead of Nathan Lyon, Abbott has scored 47 in 20 first-innings innings, including five fifties and a memorable hundred. Weeks.
In the last four years, his bare breasts were only 15 and he was dismissed without a score every third time he went to the crease.
Once back in the batting order, he is now a certified all-rounder for the Blues, batting at No. 7 ahead of four other frontline bowlers, giving him the balance of the team that helped him win the season. Made an unbeaten start.
“I definitely didn’t think I’d bat at seven (a few years ago) when I was going out as a Knight Watchman and working for Nathan Lyon,” he said with a smile. “And not very well, I’ll probably include.
“It kind of happened; I worked on my batting, I got better, I got a few chances to get back in order and make some runs. I’m very lucky that it worked that way … He saw the batting, batted on the training and they supported me and believed in my ability to take back the order.
“I always thought I had hundreds at the first level.
“I’m 28 now; I’ve had a lot of opportunities with the bat, and I’ve lost a lot. It’s just (almost) enjoying the competition and realizing that those opportunities don’t come all the time. And to get the most out of it. “
He admits that most of his runs this summer have come on some “beautiful” pitches against some fatigue attacks and believes that his best chance to be the No. 8 batsman in a Test match against India this summer is There is a possibility that will be needed. With one or two front-line grease injuries in the country.
But if Australia were to compete with the lifeless pitches of India’s batsmen two years ago and the selectors decide that part of a radical team is needed, then Abbott is ready.
“If there’s a chance to bat to raise the order and the selectors and Penny think I can do it, I won’t think twice,” he said.
“I would say for sure … if someone came to the bowling alley, I’d be more in line for him against someone who could bat at six or seven.
“But we’ll have to wait and see.”
Australia’s India Tour 2020-21
Australia Test Team: Tim Payne (C), Sean Abbott, Joe Burns, Pat Cummins, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschegan, Nathan Lyon, Michael Nezer, James Pattinson, Will Pukowski, Steve Smith, Mitch, Wis. Wade, David Warner
Australia ODI and T20 team: Aaron Finch (C), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins (VC), Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Marnus Labushagen, Glenn Maxwell, Daniel Sams, Ken Richardson, Steven , Marcus Stones, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa
India Test team: Virat Kohli (C) (first Test only), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Shubhaman Gill, Ridhiman Saha (WK), Rishabh Pant ( WK), Jasprat Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravinder Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammad Siraj
India ODI team Virat Kohli (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Shubhaman Gill, KL Rahul (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Shreyas Aiyar, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Mayank Agarwal, Ravinder Jadeja, Yuvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav , Mohammad Shami, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur.
India T20I Team: Virat Kohli (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul (Wicketkeeper), Shreyas Aiyar, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Sanju Samson (WK), Ravinder Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Yuvendra Chaham, Jaspreet Budham Saini, Deepak Chahar, T. Natarajan
Dettol ODI Series vs India
First ODI: November 27, SCG, 2.40 pm AEDT.
Second Division: November 29, SCG, 2.40 pm AEDT.
Third Division: December 2, Manuka Oval, 2.40pm AEDT.
Dettol T20 INTL Series vs India
First T20: December 4, Manuka Oval, 7:10 p.m.
Second T20: December 6, SCG, 7.10 pm AEDT.
Third T20: December 8, SCG, 7.10 pm AEDT.
Tour match
Australia A vs India A, December 6-8, Drummoyen Oval
Australia A vs Indians, December 11-13, SCG (Day and night)
Vodafone Test Series vs India
First test: December 17-21, Adelaide Oval, 3pm AEDD (day and night)
Second test: December 26-30, MCG, 10.30 a.m. AEDT.
Third test: January 7-11, SCG, 10.30 a.m. AEDT.
Fourth Test: January 15-19, GABA, 11 a.m. AEDT.
* Matches and travel are subject to any relevant government restrictions or requirements.
