Abbott not eyeing top six role despite run glut

Sean Abbott might be averaging more with the bat than most top-order specialists this Marsh Sheffield Shield season, but he's not about to request a permanent promotion in a bid to solidify his genuine allrounder status.

With fellow allrounder Moises Henriques (78no), Abbott led the Blues' successful final-day run chase against South Australia today that has lifted them to the top of the Shield ladder, as he completed a handy double amid a remarkable run of batting form.

His 83 from 102 balls came on top of the more sedate 71 (from 152 deliveries) he posted in NSW's first innings, meaning the right-hander now boats five half-centuries as well as a maiden first-class hundred from his 10 Shield innings so far this summer.

The 29-year-old's red-hot form resulted in him being elevated above specialist batter Daniel Solway and skipper Peter Nevill in the Blues' batting order to enhance his team's chances of successfully chasing the 144 they needed from 34 overs in today's final session.

But while Abbott was happy to agree to Nevill's suggestion that he jump a couple of berths from the number seven role in which he's starred throughout the season, he's aware that combining greater batting responsibility with his bowling workload might just prove too demanding.

"It's been tough batting at seven," Abbott said of his rebirth as a batter having slipped as low as number 10 for the Blues a couple of summers ago.

"If you come off after fielding for 120 overs or whatever it was in the first dig (132 overs against SA), and we lose a couple of early wickets there's not really any time to switch off.

'I'll admit that's it’s tough trying to get my head around that, and trying to find time to relax as soon as we come off after bowling.

"I'd like to be involved in the game as much as I can, but I'm just sort of learning the mental side of that and not having much time out of the game to sit down and freshen up."

Where the notion of stepping up to a greater all-round presence carries some appeal is on those occasions - such as the game against SA on a benign Adelaide Oval pitch - where Abbott finds limited success with the ball.

Despite sending down 28 overs across all four days, the Australia limited-overs representative ended the game with figures of 0-109 and was therefore delighted with the chance to make an impact with the bat.

He claimed that despite batting numbers that show a current Shield average of 75 for this season – behind only Test players Will Pucovski (247.5) and Cameron Green (102.12) in the top 10 runs scorers – he hasn't been devoting extra work to his batting at training in recent months.

Rather, Abbott believes his purple patch can be attributed to work he's undertaken in the past and the circumstances he's found himself in Shield matches for NSW this summer.

"Off the park, I haven't been putting more time into my batting," he said tonight.

"It's more the mindset and being comfortable with the contest.

"But I have been working on my batting pretty hard for a number of years, and I'm probably just starting to see the rewards now.

"Before Christmas, I had the opportunity to bat on some pretty flat wickets after the guys up the top of the order sort of wore the bowling attacks out.

"So while it's been hard work to go out and score the runs throughout the season, I think I've been the beneficiary of some pretty flat conditions and some tired bowlers.

"But I give myself a pat on the back.

"I'm pretty chuffed to be putting some numbers on the board with the bat and contributing with the bat, so I'm really happy."