Fortunate to have access to Lyon, Starc during 14-day quarantine period in September, says Abbott
Nov 15, 2020
Sydney [Australia], November 15 : Australian pacer Sean Abbott has said that he was lucky to have access to the coaching staff and some key members of the senior team during the mandatory 14-day quarantine period in September.
Abbott was recently named in Australia's 17-member Test squad for the upcoming four-match series against India.
The pacer was a part of Australia's squad for the series against England, but he did not get to play one match. After returning from the UK, Abbott underwent quality training in the 14-day quarantine hub.
"I just worked closely with Trent Woodhill on my batting and Nathan Lyon took me under his wing a bit and we were just talking cricket, not necessarily about batting, just being in the competition and that sort of thing. That two weeks was probably the best two weeks of training that I've had in my career so far. Obviously, you wouldn't get that in a normal set of circumstances," ESPNCricinfo quoted Abbott as saying.
"I had access to the head coach of the Australian team (Justin Langer), Trent Woodhill, and then every net session I was facing Starcy (Mitchell Starc), Gazza (Lyon), Kane Richardson, the form bowlers for our country, so I was pretty fortunate in that regard," he added.
After the series against England, Australian players went to the UAE to take part in the Indian Premier League (IPL). However, the players that didn't go to the IPL in the UAE were asked to isolate in a hotel for 14-days after returning to Australia as per the issued guidelines.
The 28-year-old Abbott had made his T20 debut for Australia in 2014. He then returned to international cricket after a five-year absence last year playing in three T20s against Pakistan.
The pacer revealed that he had a talk with selector George Bailey, where he talked about how he wants to play the longest format of the game.
"I said obviously the dream is to play Test cricket, what do I need to do with all these guys that are taking a heap of wickets every year and then you've got the four guys that are there at the minute who are doing so well for the country, and I said, is it as simple as runs and wickets," said Abbott.
"And he said in this format, yeah, I think it is. Your bowling is trending the right way and your numbers are good, especially in the last two years, just keep doing that, which was great feedback," he added.
