Latest news with #BrendanDoggett
News.com.au
21-06-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Australia quick Sean Abbott on the ‘trauma' of Pakistan escape, and the real Sam Konstas
Sean Abbott has detailed the trauma of his close shave from conflict in Pakistan but insists he is keen to return to the nation. The Australian paceman has meanwhile shed light on the dichotomy of Sam Konstas, describing the batting tyro as a 'hooligan' but also outlining his down-to-earth side. Abbott was a late call-up to the Aussie Test squad for the tour of the Caribbean after fellow quick Brendan Doggett was ruled out through injury. The 33-year-old has not played since the suspension of the Pakistan Super League last month. Abbott had been playing for the Quetta Gladiators in the competition but was forced to flee the country alongside a host of other international players when tensions between India and Pakistan boiled over. Abbott was among the Aussie players who had been on a flight that departed the Nur Khan airport only a few hours before the same military base was targeted by Indian forces. Speaking before Australian training on Saturday in Barbados, Abbott said he had been shaken by the experience. 'Shocking. I found it quite traumatic to be honest. It was different for everyone. I don't think it really sunk in for a few guys. Once our phones started pinging when we landed in Dubai as to what was happening since we left, it was pretty full on,' Abbott said. 'But the PSL itself was a great experience. The locals, I got to experience the Pakistan culture which was quite cool. I haven't really had the chance to do that before. And a lovely bunch of lads, and a pretty good tournament. But not the way I wanted to finish.' While some Aussies returned to the PSL when it resumed later in May – as happened with the Indian Premier League – Abbott stayed away. He has not however ruled a line through going back to Pakistan. 'I'd love to go back to Pakistan. Hopefully that sort of thing doesn't happen again. It's probably not something I want to experience again in terms of what was going when I left. But it was a fun tournament,' Abbott said. 'Obviously with all the security reasons, all the teams were based at the same hotel, so lots of friends as part of the overseas contingent so it was good fun.' A semi-regular in Australian white-ball teams in recent years, Abbott has also been around the mark for Test selection but remains without a baggy green. With Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Scott Boland all in the squad for the three Test series starting at Kensington Oval on Thursday morning (AEST), Abbott concedes he will need circumstances to conspire in his favour if he is to break through for a Test on this tour. 'I haven't really had the chance to have much of a chat (with selectors), but obviously the four guys that have been playing have been playing some pretty unbelievable cricket,' Abbott said. 'So pretty firm pecking order with those four up top. But obviously the West Indies may present some different conditions. Hopefully an opportunity there comes up. But obviously I'd say it's probably going to be more an opportunity through injury or trying to rest a few guys. Then again the conditions might suit playing two spinners.' One man locked in for the first Test is Abbott's NSW teammate Konstas, who will return to the XI for Australia's first match of the new World Test Championship cycle. While brashness may have been a feature of Konstas' brief international career to date, Abbott said there was a softer side to the youngster. 'Sammy's a hooligan,' Abbott said. 'I feel like I'm seeing his face everywhere at the minute, across social media. He's certainly burst onto the scene. 'But the thing that stood out for me with Sammy was after the Test series with India last year, we were out on the ground and he came up to me and asked me if those were my parents, standing a few metres away … he went over and chatted to them for about 30 or 40 minutes. 'I got to see what he was really about.'
The Hindu
15-06-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
Australia squad for West Indies Test series: Sean Abbott replaces injured Doggett
Australia has been dealt with an injury blow ahead of the three-match Test series in West Indies, with fast bowler Brendan Doggett ruled out due to a hip issue. The 31-year-old uncapped player has been replaced by Sean Abbott, who is also uncapped in the longest format of the game, though he has played 48 white-ball games for Australia. Both players were part of the squad for the World Test Championship (WTC) Final against South Africa but didn't feature in the Playing XI. Australia is also sweating on the fitness of Steven Smith, who dislocated his finger during the WTC Final while attempting to take a catch. The three-match series in the Caribbean will mark the beginning of the WTC 2025-27 campaign for both sides. Australia's Test squad: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster.
Int'l Cricket Council
15-06-2025
- Sport
- Int'l Cricket Council
Injury concerns hit Australia squad ahead of West Indies Tests
Australia have been dealt an injury blow going into the three-match Test series against the West Indies, with pacer Brendan Doggett ruled out due to a minor hip issue. While Doggett didn't feature in the ICC World Test Championship 2025 Final, he was a travelling reserve in the squad. His place will be taken by Sean Abbott, who has featured for Australia in 48 internationals, and has 59 wickets in limited-overs international cricket, but is yet to make his Test debut. Abbott was also a part of the group that travelled to Sri Lanka during their successful outing in the island nation earlier this year. Australia's Test squad: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster
ABC News
09-06-2025
- Sport
- ABC News
Australia vs South Africa World Test Championship final, how to watch, what time is first ball
Australia can make cricket history this week and become the first nation to win the World Test Championship twice. Defending the crown they won in 2023, Australia will face South Africa at Lord's to determine the best Test nation over the previous two years. Follow every ball of the World Test Championship final with the ABC Sport live blog, and the live commentary between Australia and South Africa at Lord's. This will be the third World Test Championship final since its inception, and the second time Australia is in the final. Here is everything you need to know about the 2025 World Test Championship final. The World Test Championship final will be played at Lord's Cricket Ground from Wednesday, June 11, to Sunday, June 16. The first ball of the Test match on Wednesday is scheduled to be bowled at 7:30pm, AEST. The World Test Championship will be streamed on Amazon's Prime Video. Prime Video has an exclusive broadcast deal for all ICC events from 2024-2027. Those with an Amazon subscription will be able to watch the World Test Championship final. ABC Sport will cover every ball of the World Test Championship online with the live blog, as well as live commentary on ABC Sport Digital Radio and via the ABC Listen App. Brendan Doggett (travelling reserve) The World Test Championship is held over a two-year cycle. For each Test, a nation can score championship points for a win, a draw or a tie. The top two teams at the end of the cycle play in the final. Because not every nation plays the same number of Tests, the standings are based on the percentage of points a team could have won. South Africa played 12 Tests during the two-year cycle, compared to 19 by Australia. South Africa finished the cycle with 100 points, compared to Australia's 154. But the 100 points secured by South Africa were 69.44 per cent of the total available to them. Meanwhile, Australia's 154 points were 67.54 per cent of the maximum amount of points they could have won. India, which had been the beaten finalist in the two previous finals, was third in the standings with 50 per cent of available points achieved. Australia began its cycle with an Ashes series in England, fresh off defeating India in the World Test Championship final in 2023. A drawn Ashes series 2-2 gave Australia a solid foundation to build their points tally. Of the 14 Test matches Australia played after the 2023 Ashes, they won 11. A shock loss to the West Indies at the Gabba in January 2024, and a defeat in the first Test of last summer's Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against India were the only defeats for the defending champions. Australia is on a four-match winning streak, winning the final two Tests against India, then completing a 2-0 sweep of Sri Lanka earlier this year. South Africa made the perfect start to their two-year cycle during their Boxing Day Test against India in 2023. At home, South Africa defeated India by an innings and 32 runs, but then results floundered. South Africa would not win in their next four Tests, with three losses (one against India, two against New Zealand) and a draw with the West Indies. But the Proteas surged to the top of the standings and into the final with seven consecutive wins. South Africa defeated the West Indies in August 2024, then completed 2-0 series sweeps of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan to qualify.
Telegraph
15-05-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
The Home Office's next big headache? English cricket
County cricket is being undermined by 'bizarre' work permit rules as clubs lobby the Home Office and ECB for change to the 'crazy' system. Players who do not meet playing criteria are restricted to a maximum of 30 days in the country, under the Permitted Paid Engagement visa scheme. It means several leading performers in this year's County Championship have been forced to return home early as they do not meet qualification criteria. The existing rules for overseas players, which were introduced in 2020, mean those without international experience are judged on their T20 pedigree. But counties argue it is wrong to judge players signed for the County Championship based on their prowess in the white-ball game, and want the rules to change for the 2026 domestic season. 'We didn't want him for T20s, we wanted him for four-day cricket' This season, Fergus O'Neill took 21 wickets at an average of 17.9 for Nottinghamshire in Division One, the most of any player during the first five weeks of the season. Yet O'Neill was still forced to leave early. Durham's Brendan Doggett, another Australian, was in a similar situation. 'It is crazy, Mick Newell, the director of cricket at Notts, told Telegraph Sport. 'T20 seems a bizarre format for Fergus to have had to play when we didn't want to sign for that form of the game - we wanted to sign him for four-day cricket. 'If you want to make these competitions the best in the world, you've got a really good player here that could probably have played another three games - and continue to make the competition stronger. I have raised it with the ECB, when they look at the rules and regulations for next season. Could they look at a format-by-format qualification, rather than just using T20? 'If you want to sign a player for red-ball cricket, then they should qualify through what they've done in red-ball cricket in their own country, not T20.' Australians having to play through jet lag To maximise the amount of games that O'Neill played, he only arrived from Australia 72 hours before Notts's first Championship match of the season. Without the 30-day limit, O'Neill would have arrived several days earlier; Australian players typically arrive around a week before their opening game, to give sufficient time to recover from jet lag. Tim Bostock, the Durham chairman, said rules need to be reformed for the good of the county game. He believes the limit of two overseas players per team per match already ensures a high level of quality control. 'It seems bizarre,' Bostock told Telegraph Sport. 'We now have a qualification criteria designed around playing a minimum number of T20 games with zero recognition of those non-international players who are playing high-quality first-class cricket. 'There are some high-quality overseas players who have not played international cricket and who do not go off and play franchise cricket that would enhance the quality of the Championship and also help with season-long planning instead of overseas players coming back and forth. Why would you have T20 cricket as the sole qualification to be allowed to stay longer than 30 days and play in our first-class competition? 'I expect the ECB to lobby government hard on changing the criteria. It's puzzling that there are multiple overseas players playing in the Premier League and Football League - many of whom have not played at the highest level yet we seem to be restricted, particularly when we only have 18 first-class teams.' Home Office rules have Hundred in mind The qualification rules for overseas players are determined by the Home Office, following consultation with the ECB. The last changes to the criteria were made before the 2020 season. The bulk of overseas players qualify for a work permit by dint of playing international cricket. For those without recent international experience, an alternative path is to have played at least 20 domestic T20 games in Full member nations in the preceding three years. Players who miss these criteria are limited to a maximum of 30 days contracted to a domestic team. There is frustration among counties that the criteria priorities short-format experience and is seemingly designed with the Hundred in mind. But players with fine first-class calibre miss out. Cricketers from Australia, where the national talent pool is particularly strong, are especially penalised, as in the case of O'Neill and Doggett. O'Neill, 24, is considered among the most exciting Australian quick bowlers of his generation. He was named Sheffield Shield player of the season for 2024-25 and has taken 133 first-class wickets at just 20 apiece. Doggett has a fine record in the Australian domestic game and has been called up in several Test squads in recent years. Bizarrely, Doggett's Test selection has hindered his ability to meet the criteria to play a full part as an overseas player in county cricket. While with Australia's squad, he missed Big Bash matches that would have helped him meet the threshold of T20 matches. Harry Conway, another Australian pace bowler, was also only eligible to join Northamptonshire on a short-term basis this year. Jordan Buckingham also signed for Yorkshire for only four weeks. Several counties are now planning to urge the ECB to push for the criteria to be reformed to ensure high-quality overseas players are able to play a full part in the County Championship. Ideas that counties are discussing include a new qualification criteria of first-class matches played by a player, or A team internationals being counted. Such proposals must be put forward by the end of the month. The ECB has an annual consultation period with the professional and recreational game each year, which runs until May 31. After the consultation period ends, suggestions are discussed by the ECB committee. Should the suggestions then be deemed worthy of exploring by the committee, they will also assess whether they fall within Home Office parameters. If the suggestions do meet these criteria, they will be discussed by the Professional Game Committee. Should this group then approve of the suggestions, they will advance to the ECB board for sign-off. At this point, finally, the suggestions would then be taken to the Home Office, who ultimately decide what the qualification criteria for overseas players are.
