The World Test Championship 2023 is on the horizon as India and Australia prepare themselves to lock horns in the summit clash to be crowned the second world champions of Test cricket. Ahead of the all-important English summer for Australia, where they will be playing the WTC final from June 7 at the Oval in London, followed by the Ashes. They have included seamer Sean Abbot to help them acclimatise to the English conditions.
Abbott has played five matches for Surrey in the ongoing season, with two of them held at the Oval, the venue for the WTC final and the Ashes. The speedster, along with Michael Neser, will join the Australian squad during their training in the lead-up to the WTC final. Ahead of the all-important game, Abbott has revealed vital information about the pitch to his teammates, saying that it’s pretty quick.
“We’ve exchanged some texts over the last few days. I just said, ‘the wicket’s been bloody quick – push those slips back, brother’. The pitch we played on last week was bloody quick. The ball was flying through … There was probably more nip in it for slower guys, there was a little bit of swing, but I can assure you there was some pace in the wicket,” Abbott was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.
The 31-year-old has picked 14 wickets for Surrey from nine innings in the ongoing County Championship division one at an average of 28.64 with a best of 5/89. Further talking about making his Test debut for Australia, Abbott said the team is already full of talented players and was hopeful of a chance if anyone gets injured during the long summer.
That’s the dream, to get the Baggy Green: Sean Abbott
“That’s the dream, to get the Baggy Green. I’m not delusional at all about the talent and calibre of the players in the squad, the guys waiting as well. The first priority was to come over here (England) and play some cricket, learn a lot and take that home with me … then obviously, the Ashes are on, and you definitely want to be over here when that’s on, and then if anything happens you can be seen as an option,” he added.
Notably, Australia failed to qualify for the World Test Championship final 2021 as they cancelled their tour to South Africa due to Covid-19 and fell short of a points percentage. However, they have made a remarkable comeback in the ongoing cycle by finishing on top of the WTC points table and will be eager to edge past India in the summit clash.