THE ABBOTT OPTION
Fast bowler wouldn t weaken Proteas
THE quality of SA’s fast bowling will not dip should Kyle Abbott crack the nod for the deciding third test against Australia that starts at Newlands on Saturday.
Abbott, who replaced the injured Wayne Parnell in the SA squad yesterday, owns a sparkling record in Cape Town and is the leading wicket taker in franchise first-class cricket this season. But he is probably third in the queue to fill the vacancy.
In five first-class games this season, the Dolphins quick has taken 22 wickets at an average of 13.09. He claimed match figures of 12-125 against the Cobras in Paarl at the weekend on a pitch that yielded more than 300 runs in both first innings. At Newlands, Abbott has a career record of 16 wickets at 12.43.
“It ’ s a similar wicket to Kingsmead in that, like most coastal wickets, it ’ s got a bit in it for the bowlers,” Abbott said yesterday about the Cape Town surface.
“If I do play, I will be patient and make bloody sure batsmen will have to work hard to get a run off me. Whatever movement there is through the air, I will find it. That ’ s my role, that ’ s my skill and that ’ s what I can do.”
How did he feel about taking the lift to the top-floor penthouse that the SA dressing room will be in the wake of their stirring performance in the second test at St George ’ s Park. They won the test by 231 runs with a day to spare on Sunday to square the series? Was that a daunting prospect considering he would come in cold?
“The guys are incredibly welcoming,” Abbott said. “It ’ s a very tight-knit culture, a family, and I ’ ve got no doubt that I will be welcomed. ”
He knows that from his experience with the SA squad last February, when he came in for an injured Jacques Kallis against Pakistan in Centurion.
Abbott took 7-29 in the first innings, second only to Lance Klusener ’ s 8-64 against India in Kolkata in 1996 as the best figures by a SA debutant.
Despite that stunning performance, Abbott has not donned a test shirt since. Not that that has bothered him.
“I ’ ve had very good contact with Russell Domingo [the SA coach] and [selection convenor] Andrew Hudson about where I stand and the balance of the side,” Abbott said. “They could have left me in the dark, but they haven ’ t and the communication has been very good.”
If that is the case, Abbott probably knows that he will struggle to leapfrog Ryan McLaren and Rory Kleinveldt to get a game on Saturday.
McLaren, who was concussed by Michael Johnson in the first test at Centurion, has returned to fitness. In terms of the SA squad ’ s policy he is thus entitled to reclaim his place in the XI. Kleinveldt, meanwhile, was an original selection in the squad. Parnell, meanwhile, has been ruled out with a groin strain.