Nuwan Zoysa may not get an opportunity to meet Sean Abbot any time soon, but the former Sri Lankan left-arm pace bowler wants to tell him something: “get back to cricket soon, mate; you have to bowl quick again. I too have seen blood on the cricket pitch, though that cannot be compared to what happened to you in Sydney.”
“The death of Phil Hughes was most tragic and unfortunate, but Sean should never feel he was responsible in any way for it,” Zoysa, who is here as the coach of the Goan team for the Ranji Trophy match against Kerala, told The Hindu here on Saturday.
“The tragic death of Hughes reminded me of a bouncer I bowled at Laurie Williams in an ‘A’ match against the West Indies. His nose was broken, there was blood all over, and he collapsed; he took no further part in the match.”
Williams, however, went on to play for West Indies in 15 One Day Internationals. The medium fast bowler, who had three first class hundreds, too died young, though. He was killed in a car accident in 2002.
Zoysa is sure that Abbott will get the full support from Australia’s cricket community. “Cricket needs him; he is such a talented bowler,” he said. “I think he is the most promising pace bowler in Australia after Josh Hazelwood.”
Zoysa, who took a hat-trick with the first three balls of the 1999 Test match against Zimbabwe in Harare, also rates India’s young pace bowlers highly.
“Varun Aaron has impressed me a lot, especially with his speed,” he said. “I hope the Indian team management nurtures him properly. Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who resembles Glenn McGrath, and Mohammed Shami are all good.
“With Ishant Sharma also there to guide them, I think India should do well in Australia this time. It would not be a whitewash this time, surely.”
For the World Cup, he thinks South Africa will have the best chances. “There is too much talent in the team,” he said. “It is time they won the World Cup.”
