Ashes bolter Sean Abbott ‘totally ready’ for Test debut

NSW Blues coach Phil Jaques is adamant Sean Abbott would prove himself at Test level if given an opportunity during the Ashes.

Sean Abbott bowls during an Australian nets session at Melbourne Cricket Ground on January 02, 2021 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Kelly Defina/Getty Images)

Conditions were perfect for batting on the final day of the New South Wales intra-squad warm-up match at Sydney’s Hurstville Oval on Thursday.

Blues young guns Baxter Holt and Ollie Davies occupied the crease as veteran seamer Trent Copeland tried to unearth a breakthrough on the lifeless deck.

Copeland attempted a bouncer, but Davies casually rocked on the back foot and sliced the delivery over the third man boundary for six.

Earlier that morning, opening batter Daniel Hughes returned to the sheds with 200 runs next to his name. It was a verified road.

“It had some life in it two days ago, but it’s pretty flat now,” a NSW Cricket staff member noted.

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Sean Abbott was brought back into the attack soon after, and one of his first deliveries drew the false shot, missing the outside edge of Holt’s bat and clipping the top of off stump.

The young batter briefly looked back at the stumps before making his way back to the pavilion.

Abbott created the wicket seemingly out of nowhere, with little assistance from the pitch — something he became renowned for in the Sheffield Shield last summer.

Despite competing exclusively in batting-friendly conditions in Adelaide, the New South Wales paceman claimed 14 wickets at 17.92 to become the competition’s third-highest wicket-taker leading into the Christmas break.

National selectors rewarded Abbott’s impressive form by including him in Australia’s squad for the four-Test series against India.

The 29-year-old is still waiting for the coveted Baggy Green, but news of James Pattinson’s shock retirement has pushed him up the pecking order.

No pace bowler took more wickets for New South Wales in the Sheffield Shield than Sean Abbott last summer. Picture. Phil Hillyard

Abbott will be competing against the likes of Mark Steketee, Michael Neser and Jhye Richardson for spots in Australia’s Ashes squad, and his batting could prove the point of difference.

Abbott averaged 63.33 in the Sheffield Shield last summer, scoring six fifties and a century in eight first-class matches.

He was the second-highest run-scorer for New South Wales with 570 runs at a strike rate of 67.29.

And Abbott’s purple patch with the bat looks set to continue this summer — he compiled a masterful 154 earlier in this week’s intra-squad match at Hurstville Oval.

Speaking to reporters from the venue on Thursday, Blues coach Phil Jaques said Abbott would be more than ready for Test cricket if given the opportunity.

“He’s really grown as a player and as a person over the last couple of years,” Jaques said.

“He’s developed into a genuine all-rounder now.

“If he’s picked he won’t let anyone down, that’s for sure. I think he’s totally ready.

“I think he’ll really add value to the team if he’s selected for that squad.”

According to Jaques, Abbott’s consistency with the ball has been the speedster’s most noticeable point of improvement over the past couple of seasons.

“He’s been a mainstay bowler for us, opening the bowling, and he’s been awesome when he’s done that for us,” he said.

“He’s taking new-ball wickets, and he’s just been a real dominant fast bowler at first-class level.”

New South Wales will finally get its season underway with a Sheffield Shield match against Victoria at Sydney’s Drummoyne Oval, scheduled to start on Wednesday.