15 Facts about Sean Abbott - The young Aussie all-rounder

One of the most promising cricketers in Australia, Sean Abbott is a wicket-taking medium-fast bowler who also strikes the ball cleanly with the bat. Abbott’s talent was identified early when he was selected to make his List A debut as an 18-year-old, however, his breakthrough season did not come until the 2013/14 summer which saw him finish as the leading wicket-taker in the Ryobi Cup. That said here are some interesting facts about Sean Abbott.

1. Birth:

Sean Abbott was born on 29^th February 1992 in Windsor, New South Wales.

2. Junior cricket:

Abbott played junior cricket for Baulkham Hills Cricket Club and later progressed to play grade cricket for Parramatta District.

3. List A debut:

He made his List A debut for New South Wales against Western Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground on 17 October 2010 in the 2010–11 Ryobi One-Day Cup, but neither bowled nor batted in the match.

4. First-class cricket:

He made his first-class cricket debut exactly one year after his List A debut, against South Australia at the Adelaide Oval. He picked up 2 wickets and scored 12 runs in this drawn match.

5. Sydney connection:

Abbott has played for Parramatta and Sydney University in the Sydney Grade Cricket competition and both of the Sydney teams in the Big Bash League, the Sydney Thunder in the 2011–12 and 2012–13 seasons and the Sydney Sixers in 2013–14 and 2012-Current season.

6. Ryobi Cup:

Abbott enjoyed his breakthrough season in 2013-14 when he topped the one-day competition, Ryobi Cup, wicket tally with 16 wickets at an average of 20.93.

7. Steve Waugh Medal:

His strong all-round (2013-14) season also brought him 27 Sheffield Shield wickets and he won the Steve Waugh Medal as the best New South Wales player of the season.

8. International debut:

After winning the Steve Waugh Medal, he received a call-up to the Australian ODI and T20 squads to play Pakistan in the UAE in 2014. Abbott took the prized wicket of Shahid Afridi in the first over of his T20 international debut, trapping him in front plumb lbw with his fourth ball. He has played 1 ODI and 3 T20Is taking 1 wicket each in the two formats. He got to bat only once in both formats and scored 3 and 5 runs in the two innings. He last played for Australia in November 2014 against South Africa in a T20I.

9. The fatal bouncer:

Less than two months after that, Abbott bowled the ball which hit left-handed batsman Phillip Hughes who was playing for South Australia in a Sheffield Shield match. Hughes died two days later at St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney, as a result of a vertebral artery dissection, leading to subarachnoid haemorrhage.

10. Counselling:

Abbott struggled after bowling the fatal bouncer. Counsellors and team-mates continued to help the bowler following the accident. New South Wales and South Australia players were receiving counselling after the incident and the Australian Cricketers’ Association stated during that time that they were particularly focusing on Abbott.

11. Remarkable return:

Abbott came back from that tragedy remarkably well, taking a career-best 6 for 14 against Queensland on his return to first-class cricket, just 17 days later. During the season (2014-15) he took 23 wickets in the Sheffield Shield and 5 in the Matador BBQs One Day Cup.

12. Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year:

In January 2015, Abbott was anointed the Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year at the Allan Border Medal night in Sydney, a reward for his outstanding displays across all formats that also saw him win the Steve Waugh Medal as the best New South Wales cricketer of 2013-14. Not present for the awards night due to his place in the Sydney Sixers squad for the Big Bash League final, Abbott spoke gratefully about the recognition of his peers. Abbott polled 42% of the votes submitted by Australia’s cricketers, well ahead of the next best tally for his NSW team-mate Gurinder Sandhu (15%) and Victoria’s Marcus Stoinis (14%).

13. IPL:

Abbott was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2015 auctions for Rs 1 crore. He played 2 matches and conceded 57 runs without a single wicket. His batting produced just 15 runs. He went unsold in the 2016 auctions.

14. Stats:

Abbott has played 29 First-class matches and taken 72 wickets at 33.28. He has scored 579 runs at an average of 14.84 including 1 half-century. His 39 List A appearances have produced 58 wickets at 23.87 and 465 runs at an average of 20.21 including 1 fifty. He has 36 wickets from 44 T20s and 229 runs with the bat.

15. The most heartfelt message:

Many of the condolence messages included support for Abbott during the Phillip Hughes tragedy but the most reassuring one was from Mehrab Hossain, whose pull killed Raman Lamba while the latter was fielding at short leg during a club game in Dhaka in 1998. Hossain’s message was heartfelt: “Friend, I have gone through exactly what you are going through. What happened was an accident. Your family and friends, the cricket board, and cricketers from all over the world are in your support. We want you to come back to the game, but only when you are ready.” Hossain had recovered thrillingly, becoming Bangladesh’s first international centurion and so did Abbott by taking the field soon after the tragedy.