(Cricket News) With the T20 World Cup coinciding with the first month of Blast group games, Surrey has taken a calculated risk with their overseas signings for the T20 Blast, announcing on Wednesday that Australian seamer Sean Abbott and fellow countryman Aaron Hardie will return to the club in May and June.
Both players made appearances in their recent series win over West Indies, but neither is included in Australia’s full-strength squad for their upcoming three-match series in New Zealand, which begins in Wellington next week.
“Sean is a highly skilled cricketer, and everyone saw last season what he is capable of in red-ball and white-ball cricket,” Alec Stewart, Surrey’s director of cricket, said. “He had an outstanding impact as a cricketer and as a member of the dressing room… Sean is exactly what we look for in an overseas professional at this club.”
Abbott, who enjoyed success in both the County Championship and the Blast last year, has a contract that covers four Championship fixtures and eight T20s from May 10 until June 26.
Following the announcement of Hardie’s contract last week, Surrey secured both of its overseas spots for the first half of the Blast’s group stages. It is looking less and less likely that Sunil Narine, who has played for Surrey the past two seasons but controversially missed Finals Day last year due to a conflict with his obligations at MLC, will rejoin the team for the tournament.
Their roster will undoubtedly be impacted by England’s T20 World Cup plans, as Gus Atkinson, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, and Reece Topley are all likely participants, along with Tom Curran, Chris Jordan, and Jamie Overton.
