AFP/Sydney
Sean Abbott, who delivered the ball that killed Australian batsman Phillip Hughes, is set to return to action after being named yesterday in the New South Wales squad.
There were fears that the young fast bowler may have been too traumatised to play again after Hughes died from being hit by one of his bouncers at the Sydney Cricket Ground last month. But he was included in a 12-man squad to play Queensland in a Sheffield Shield fixture in Sydney from today.
Abbott attended Hughes’s funeral last week and many people around the cricket world have expressed solidarity with the 22-year-old following the freak accident. NSW captain Moises Henriques said the bowler was holding up well. “He’s coping pretty well,” Henriques said. “I guess from our point of view as fellow players, we’re trying to expel his name from the tragedy a little bit, because in my opinion I don’t think he’s any more at fault than any other fast bowler who’s ever bowled a bouncer in his career.
“We’re actually trying to remove his name from everything that’s happened, and just treat him as another one of the players.”
Several of the New South Wales squad were on the field when Hughes collapsed, and coach Trevor Bayliss said the Queensland match was not about winning. “It’s not about the result in this match, it’s about getting the guys back on the paddock and looking after their future,” he said.
“This game is about getting back and doing the things they’ve done in the past and getting back into the groove of playing high-level cricket.”
Abbott’s return coincides with Australia facing India in the delayed first Test at Adelaide, with a number of tributes planned.
