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All-round Abbott a man on the rise

Aussie debutant reflects on international arrival

Sean Abbott. The casual fan may have wondered "who?" when the squads for Australia's VB Tour of the UAE were announced, but it is a name supporters can expect to hear a lot more.

The 22-year-old from Windsor, in Sydney's north-western outskirts, burst onto the international scene last week making his international debut in two limited-overs formats in three days.

Abbott struck – and was struck –in a memorable first over of international cricket, hit by a Glenn Maxwell shy at the stumps before collecting the wicket of Pakistan hero Shahid Afridi with his next ball in Australia's T20 win.

"I had appealed that ball and I didn't really look where it went because I was obviously trying to get my first wicket," Abbott told cricket.com.au in an exclusive interview this week.

"Someone was yelling out 'Watch out, Sabba!' and I turned around there was a ball getting thrown my way.

"I saw a photo of it afterwards it looked pretty funny, like I was dancing or doing something silly.

"I was so excited to be playing for my country I didn't really feel it, but the next day walking around the mall it was pretty sore. So, thanks Maxi!"

Fuelled by adrenaline, Abbott had to force himself to slow down for his debut match as he stood at the top of his mark ready for his first over on the world stage.

"The day before I'd been a little bit excited and was running in trying to bowl as fast as I could," he recalled.

"I was bowling a few no-balls and getting into a bit of trouble.

"That was in the back of my mind. I was just trying to slow everything down, take everything in and not rush and get the ball down the other end in the spot that I wanted."

It worked. Abbott's first wicket was a 143kph late inswinger that rapped Afridi on the pad plumb in front.

"I obviously thought it was very out," Abbott said. "The umpire, it felt like he took forever to give it out.

"When he finally gave it out I thought I was going to pass out because I'd been putting everything into my appeal.

"I never really felt like I've bowled that fast before.

"A couple of balls took off the other day and got me jumping around a bit and made me pretty happy to be honest.

"Hopefully I can keep that sort of pace up."

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Abbott's 1-17 in three T20 overs and 1-25 in five overs on his ODI debut were the first steps in his international career, but the culmination of an impressive run of form for NSW that saw him awarded the Steve Waugh Medal as the state's best player for 2013-14.

"I didn't expect that – there were guys like Steve Smith, Ryan Carters, Stephen O'Keefe who had been performing well," said Abbott.

"I was sweating bullets when Steve Waugh read my name out. I didn't have a speech prepared or anything and I was stuttering when I got up on stage.

"That was surreal to meet Steve, and getting that award."

In last season's domestic one-day competition, Abbott was the top wicket-taker with 16 scalps in seven matches at an average of 20.93.

In that season's Bupa Sheffield Shield, his first full season, he was ninth on the list of wicket-takers with 27 in nine matches at 29.44.

More recently he impressed playing for Cricket Australia's National Performance Squad in the Darwin quadrangular one-day series with Australia A, India A and South Africa A. He was again the standout bowler, taking 11 wickets in five matches at 16.90.

It led to a phone call from Rod Marsh, chairman of Cricket Australia's National Selection Panel in early September.

"We were in Brisbane for our pre-season camp with the Blues and I was in Josh Hazlewood's room with him and Josh Lalor," Abbott effuses.

"I had a dodgy phone, I couldn't get calls to come through, they'd just come through in a text.

"So I'd just checked my phone like I usually would and it come up with a text that said 'Hi Sean, it's Rod Bash here, could you please give me a call'.

"I was like, I don't know a 'Rod Bash'.

"I'm assuming this could be Rod Marsh. So I raced downstairs, my heart beating out of my chest and sure enough it was Rod.

"When I rang my mum and my sisters they were yelling and screaming – they had everyone over just by coincidence which was pretty special."

Engaging and exuberant, Abbott speaks about the pride of receiving two debut caps in three days with genuine passion.

Away from the cricket pitch he mixes his obsession for Call of Duty on the PlayStation with a love of the outdoors, regularly posting pictures on social media of dirt-biking and horse riding adventures with his faithful kelpie, Bear.

Video games and bush retreats may seem chalk and cheese and they perhaps give a clue to Abbott's all-round skill, something he is keen to show on the international stage.

His bowling is strong, but his batting shows potential as well. He's shown glimpses of that potential to be a destructive force in the KFC T20 Big Bash League, where he's had stints with both Sydney franchises.

"I feel like I'm in very good bowling form at the moment," said Abbott.

"I had a pretty much full-season in first-class last year in the Shield and the one-dayers.

"I feel like I've got plenty to offer with the bat. There's a lot of things I'm working on.

"I don't want my bowling to be good and my batting to fall by the wayside.

"I'm working hard to bring that up the standard that it needs to be at to perform well not only in the Blues team but, if I get the chance to bat again, in the Australian team.

"Hopefully I can become more of a genuine allrounder rather than just relying on my bowling for selection."

Abbott was put in at No.8 on his ODI debut, ahead of Mitchell Johnson, and while he fell swinging in the chase for late runs, had been given licence to play his natural game by coach Darren Lehmann.

"Darren has given me the freedom to go out and back myself and play the way I have for the last 12 to 18 months for NSW which is what got me here," said Abbott.

"I don't need to change anything just because I'm playing at this level.

"Test match cricket is the ultimate goal for any cricketer I feel.

"I don't think I can get too ahead of myself at the moment. I'll just worry about my next ball, my next game."