Sean Abbott‘s spell with Surrey in county cricket has ended after just one match with the allrounder suffering a hamstring injury against Gloucestershire.
Abbott scored 40 and took 2 for 5 in his first match for the club but did not take the field on the final day at The Oval last week. A Surrey statement said the hamstring was “badly damaged.”
He had been due to take a full part in the T20 Blast which begins next week but will now return home immediately to begin his recovery ahead of Australian season.
“Sean’s injury is incredibly unfortunate as he made a great impression during his first game and had already become a popular member of the dressing room,” Alec Stewart, Surrey’s director of cricket, said.
Abbott, who was part of various Australia squads during last season and played in the T20I and ODI series against India, was not included in the preliminary group named for the tour of West Indies next month.
As with anyone returning to Australia he will have to undergo two weeks quarantine and will then have around three months to recover before the beginning of the domestic season with New South Wales.
Abbott is the second Australian to have a county deal cut short by injury following Billy Stanlake who suffered a stress fracture of his back after one game for Derbyshire.
There is significant representation by Australians in county cricket this season with more due to begin stints during the T20 Blast.
However, the influx of marquee names for the Hundred – across the men’s and women’s competitions – is now in doubt. The men’s tours of West Indies and Bangladesh clash with a large part of the tournament while the quarantine requirements on return to Australia are likely to mean more of the female players will follow Rachael Haynes’ lead and withdraw due to the home series against India starting in mid-September.
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