Sean Abbott fights for baggy green despite falling down pecking order behind Boland, Richardson

Rushed around the country as a squad member, Abbott spent the best part of a month as a net bowler, missing out on Big Bash opportunities in the hope of getting one step closer to a maiden baggy green.

At the time, the bowling all-rounder was seemingly next in line for a Test debut should one of his NSW compatriots – the trio of Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood – fall to injury or illness.

Two years later, the 30-year-old has fallen down the pecking order.

Scott Boland became a hero at the MCG, Michael Neser and Jhye Richardson both made an impact at Adelaide Oval while Lance Morris’ raw pace has him on the fast track to Test selection.

With spots up for grabs in the New Year’s Test against South Africa, and fast-bowling all-rounders in the spotlight, Abbott should be in consideration.

But despite endless displays of patience, he is set to miss out again.

“They’ve obviously got to make changes so I’d like to think that maybe I’m in the conversation,” Abbott tells CODE Sports.

“I also know it would have been nice to take a few more wickets in the Shield this year to take the decision out of someone’s hands.

“It is my home ground, I know the conditions well, so hopefully I’m in the conversation and we will see where it goes.”

Abbott’s sacrifices during the 2020-21 season would have been rewarded with a baggy green down the line in an ideal world.

But he knows that’s not how professional cricket works. And while he could have spent more time with family or in the magenta for the Sixers, he still reflects on those weeks as an opportunity he took to be a better red-ball player.

“As a professional cricketer, the Australian Test cricket team is the pride and joy of Australian sport. You don’t just bring someone in because they’ve been in and around the group,” Abbott says.

“You always want to be playing, but if you’re in the Australian set up, it’s right where you want to be. Those are also the best environments to be in. Hanging around the best cricketers in the world. They are usually the best ones to give you great advice to keep you moving forward with the journey.

“At times it was tough not playing, but hanging out with some of the best cricketers and some of my closest mates, I wouldn’t trade that for anything.”

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How does Abbott feel about playing cricket without biosecurity bubbles this summer?

“[I’m] over the moon,” he says. And you can understand why.

After the India Test series, Abbott travelled with the Australian white-ball squad for various subcontinent tours, played in The Hundred and played for the SunRisers in the IPL.

“I think the IPL was the toughest [bubble],” Abbott says.

“We were not allowed to leave the hotel so couldn’t go and distract myself with things outside like seeing the culture in India and spending time with the local people.”

He also became a dad. Abbott and his now-wife Brier welcomed baby Ella into the world last December.

Balancing the joys of being a father and the sacrifices involved with being a professional athlete were only exacerbated by the restrictions placed on players because of Covid.

It left Abbott questioning the decisions he had made, and there were many times he was close to booking a ticket for the next flight back to Australia.

“Ella was born during the Big Bash and then we went to Pakistan, straight to the IPL, so there were 10 or 12 weeks there where I missed out on being a father,” he says.

“It was bloody tough and I’m sure any parents out there know it’s not all smooth sailing all the time.

“There was a period where the girls were sick pretty badly for a week and I was questioning why the hell I was bloody still in India. There have been some bloody long periods of, ‘When the hell am I gonna get home?’

“Brier rang and apologised after a phone call when she was venting to me, she’s like, ‘I didn’t even ask you how your day was’. I was like, ‘Shut the bloody hell up and go to bed, you don’t have to be nice to me when you’re at home alone!’

“I‘m very lucky that my wife’s understanding of that. Hopefully, we’re in an environment now where families can come and things are looking up so plenty to look forward to.”

But how has being a father changed Sean Abbott, the cricketer?

Beyond fewer trips to the golf course – “some of the lads aren’t happy with me” – it has given him a greater perspective on finding balance, but it hasn’t weakened his desire to represent his country.

“I‘ve always had a great relationship with cricket,” Abbott says.

“I certainly maybe look forward at the end of the day’s play coming home and hanging out with Ella as opposed to heading down to the pub and digesting the game with the lads.

“Sure, it’d be nice to be able to explain my journey to my daughter one day that I got to play Test cricket for Australia or more cricket for Australia. I think that‘d be a pretty cool thing to do.”

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So, what is Abbott’s plan to fulfil that Test prophecy?

The numbers suggest there’s not much more Abbott can do. Since the 2020-21 Shield season, Abbott averages 38.95 with the bat, including a maiden first-class century, while he averages 28.31 with the ball.

His Blues and Sixers teammate, Daniel Hughes, isn’t quite sure what more Abbott is meant to do either.

“He’s been in and around the Aussie set up for a few years now,” Hughes tells CODE Sports.

“Probably unlucky for him to miss out, they took the Wild Thing (Lance Morris) into the Test side this time.

“But he’s been bowling well, and even his batting is starting to come together as well.

“It won’t be long until he’s probably playing full-time in those Aussie colours.”

The batting improvement is something Abbott takes a lot of pride in. And it goes back to that philosophy of taking the decision out of the selectors’ hands.

If they need a fast bowler who is more than handy with the bat, he wants to be that guy. In a struggling NSW side, the only batters with a better Sheffield Shield average than Abbott are Kurtis Patterson and Moises Henriques.

“I’ve always enjoyed batting. But for these last few years, I’ve put in the time. I’ve seen how good I can be with the bat and it makes you hungry to want to do better.

“When guys say, ‘Shit Seany, you can keep going here’, I’m like, ‘Why not?’”

Wickets will always be Abbott’s main currency, however. And while opportunities are unlikely to come in Sydney or India, he’s already got his sights set on trying to find a path into the Australian team through England.

“There‘s plenty of cricket to be played around the world, so probably a few decisions to be made around where I want to play my cricket in winter, especially with all the Aussie tours going on and what complements what.

“Test cricket is the goal, and that might look like trying to go out and play some red-ball cricket in England.”

Whatever he decides, with no restrictions there’s no doubting that Brier and Ella will be right by his side.