Sean Abbott has been snapped up to play at Surrey, the latest Australian seamer to join the English county circuit this week following news of Peter Siddle’s return to Somerset.
The 30-year-old Abbott has signed on at the Oval-based county side in a deal until the end of July, meaning he’ll be available for fixtures in both the county championship and the T20 Blast competitions.
It will be a second stint at the club for the Sydney Sixers’ bowling allrounder and Abbott will definitely be hoping for more luck than his 2021 spell which lasted just one match before a muscle injury wrecked his time there.
Having been capped 17 times in white-ball cricket, Surrey see the Aussie international’s signing as a coup following a major blow to their attack when England’s Jamie Overton sustained a stress fracture in his back.
Former England captain Alec Stewart, now the county’s director of cricket, said: “Sean’s skillset and character will be an asset to our dressing room.
“We saw what he could do in his brief spell here in 2021 and I’ve kept in contact with him since, whilst monitoring his performances.
“In Jamie’s absence, Sean will bring his own experience of winning trophies and is very capable with both bat and ball. Sean will add real strength to the group.”
Like Abbott, earlier in the week 38-year-old Siddle was also announced as returning to the county game for a spell until the end of July.
Hugely popular at the club, he took 27 first-class wickets for Somerset at 23.92 apiece, including a season’s best 6-51 against Surrey, last year while also snapping up 17 wickets in the T20 Blast.
“I loved my time at Somerset last summer and when the opportunity to go back came about there was never any doubt that I would take it,” said Siddle, who’s previously always thrived in English conditions in other county stints at Nottinghamshire, Lancashire and Essex as well as Somerset.
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