SEAN Abbott will make a brave cricket comeback on Tuesday after New South Wales selected the all-rounder to face Queensland.
It will be on same SCG ground that he left as a shattered man after the Phillip Hughes tragedy.
There were initial fears Abbott may never be able to play high-level cricket again after the psychological trauma of delivering the bouncer which felled Hughes.
WATSON REVEALS AUSSIES’ MENTAL DEMONS
AUSSIE QUICKS SET TO INFLICT PAIN ON INDIA
DHONI GIVES THUMBS UP AFTER TRAINING SESSION
However Blues officials and teammates have been heartened by the strong and courageous manner in which the young cricketer has dealt with the harrowing experience.
The Blues named the 22-year-old fast bowling all-rounder in their squad for the Shield against the Bulls, however the final XI for the match will not be confirmed until Tuesday morning.
Abbott and his NSW teammates will still have until match morning to make a final call on whether they are ready to play.
It is understood that while Abbott wants to play on Tuesday, several of his teammates who were extremely close to Hughes may be still too emotionally fragile to take the field.
Blues players had meetings with Cricket NSW officials on Sunday and were asked whether they thought they would feel ready to play.
There has been an outpouring of support for Abbott and concern for his welfare after he sent down the bouncer which struck Hughes in a freak accident.
The Hughes family has helped the healing process by trying to ensure the young cricketer feels no unnecessary guilt.
Megan Hughes spent some time with Abbott at St Vincent’s Hospital during the hours before her brother died.
NSW all-rounder Moises Henriques, who has been named Blues captain for the match, said he felt Abbott was “coping pretty well’’.
“He is coping pretty well and I guess from our point of view as fellow players we are trying to expel his name from the tragedy a little bit,’’ Henriques said on Sydney’s Sky Sports Radio.
“In my opinion, I don’t think he is any more at fault than any fast bowler that has ever bowled a bouncer in his career.
“We are trying to remove his name from everything that has happened and just treat him like another one of the players. That’s how he wants to be treated.’’
On the advice of counsellors, Cricket Australia urged national and state fast bowlers to return to the nets as soon as they felt ready.
Some bowlers felt returning to their natural environment on the cricket field was beneficial. All have had different emotional responses.
Former Test paceman Peter George bowled a bouncer on his first delivery in Brisbane club cricket but only after taking the extraordinary step of warning the batsman he was about to send down a short ball.
No bowler faces a more difficult challenge than Abbott but there have already been some promising signs such as him returning to net sessions with NSW last week.
Henriques says it remains likely several Blues players will not play against Queensland tomorrow.
“I think myself and a few of the other guys are still in a bit of denial of everything that has happened and the extraordinary circumstances,’’ Henriques said
“With such a unique situation with someone actually passing away on a cricket pitch, it is quite hard to quite wrap your head around that as a cricketer.’’
NSW squad: Moises Henriques (C), Sean Abbott, Doug Bollinger, Ryan Carters, Scott Henry, Nick Larkin, Nic Maddinson, Peter Nevill, Stephen O’Keefe, Gurinder Sandhu, Wil Somerville, Mitchell Starc
Originally published as Abbott back in action after NSW selection