During the final Championship game of the season against Surrey, Kyle Abbott took his season's tally of wickets to 56. His name is quite rightly bracketed with Andy Roberts, Derek Shackleton and Malcolm Marshall whenever Post 1945 all-time best Hampshire elevens are ever discussed. He signed an extension to ensure he comes back in 2026. To date in 116 first class matches for the club, Kyle has taken 478 wickets at exactly 20 apiece. This season, he has led the Hampshire attack yet again with outstanding skill and real heart. He is extremely fit and a great role model to a battery of young quicks at the club who show great promise. They are privileged to play with him. Without him, Hampshire would have been relegated before that fateful month of September for the club had even begun. He deserved all the plaudits and awards which rightly came his way immediately after the season ended. The First Division in the County Championship is a much better league next season with him in it.
In order to capture some of what makes him an undisputed modern Hampshire "great" on the page, Kevin Emery sat down to do an interview with us at the Hotel End, directly behind the bowler's arm, while Kyle was bowling in the second innings of that Surrey game. Just for the record, Kyle finished with yet another 5 wicket wicket haul, even as we chatted. Here is that interview with Kevin, who took 79 County Championship wickets himself in his debut season of 1982 (at less than 24 apiece) when he was named "Young Cricketer of the Year":
Kevin, what impresses you most watching Kyle bowl?
Watching him live here and on TV, the first thing to say is that he is very consistent - very consistent in his lengths and in his lines. So he's not giving the batsmen any freebies. After that, he is then going to work on keeping them in the crease and developing a plan of attack. One of his real virtues is that he can find that length that differs between grounds around the country; you know, that is just key. He reads the wicket very early on and then invariably finds that right length each time. He is also extremely fit. If you talk in terms of longevity, Jimmy Anderson's the best, but being able to repeat, come back and bowl again, for spell after spell, and just physically being in great shape to last the course defines them both. Kyle also bowls regularly with a new ball, that gives him some advantage, when it is a bit harder and it nips around more. Kyle nips it either way from sort of middle crease and he just always keeps the batsmen honest. I think he also just surprises them now and again with very subtle changes of pace.
How would you describe his action?
Firstly, the wrist is always behind the ball. He is not chest on, but slightly open. He's not classical sideways, but comes in on a fairly straight approach. Crucially, the wrist is always strong and he can then just adjust the ball very slightly to nip it either side. He really knows what he is doing; he bowls really well to left handers. His attack to left handers is often round the wicket. It is like a fast off break. If you can come in with the angle and hold it up, then that's going to get some of the better left handers out. When he comes in - both over and round the wicket - he also has the ability to vary his angle slightly on the crease. His natural angle is coming in and he's got the ball that holds up and nips away. He also gets very decent carry.
What other advantages does he have at the start of his run up?
He dots people up a lot and builds pressure. As a bowler, you are not preying on the batsman's ego, but the level of comfort say. He is constantly asking questions of them. So I notice today that Dan Lawrence has walked down the track to him a few times to say, okay, that's means you've got to bowl a bit shorter, which gives it less chance to do something. And every time Dan does walk down, he just lets it go. He doesn't want to whack him, but he's just trying to put the bowler off his length. So how does Kyle respond? He just says to himself on the way back to his mark, I know what I am good at, that is fine, I'm still on the crease, I'm watching the batsman and I can just adjust, if need be. He is totally confident that lbw, bowled and nicked off are always all in play because he is so consistent. He's not getting people out slapped to cover. Just hit that line, nip it a bit either way, hope the bounce will be a factor. He is not a big swinger of the ball, which requires you to change your grip far more on the ball. It is all about pitch groupings and building the pressure. Nothing on the pads to open up the leg side scoring options. Maidens always matter.
Which bowlers were similar to Kyle back when you played?
Although Kyle is a couple of yards quicker, someone like Angus Fraser, you know, where he's wearing away that little patch on the length to either left or right handers. They both send down that "heavy ball" that hits the bat. Change of pace with Kyle as well can be key, but so often these are just very subtle changes. Let's just say he is normally bowling mid to late 80s, and then he bowls one at 73, because you put the ball in your hand a bit deeper, you splay your fingers or something. That's where on slow, low wickets, you can get the batsman out caught when they are through the shot too early. As we know, there's loads of different types of dismissal and on flatter wickets without movement, that is where the best bowlers like Kyle come into their own.
It feels like Kyle needs overs in his legs and is always just as effective in his third or fourth spell of the day? How important is it to bowl lots of overs as a paceman or seamer?
He would have bowled in South Africa growing up with lots of overs coming through. Once you have physically developed and past the risks of stress fractures and stuff like that, you need to bowl overs and overs. You get to know what your body needs, you know when you're in rhythm, when you're not, and how you can fight through it. And so from his perspective, I guess he'll know the days that he's right on it and the days that he is battling. But to the untrained eye it just looks the same. For some of the younger bowlers today, it is far harder. They don't get the amount of overs, and you not going to learn how to do that. You will not be taking the volume of wickets, or like he's consistently done at 20 apiece. He just continually hits that awkward length for batsmen, generates good bounce and carry. We all know that there are no two balls exactly the same. He doesn't waste the short ball. He knows what works for him: don't try to do too many things. Just hit the crease, cant the seam slightly differently, maybe put it in your hand slightly differently, but keep that right length for that wicket.
How crucial are bowling partnerships?
Huge, of course. With Mo Abbas and Kyle, they complemented each other perfectly. Abbas would bowl that ball that kissed the pitch, a bit further up, nipping it a little bit either way, challenging the ego of the batsman more. Meanwhile Abbott, from the other end, was hitting the bat hard. So both were really different. But both are also thinking bowlers. Thinking the batsman out and working to a plan, And so with the new ball, I would have thought those two together - on wickets that helped a bit - then there was no bigger handful that you could face in modern day County Cricket. Hampshire were very lucky to have them both. Mo has definitely played his part in Nottinghamshire's title triumph this summer.
What will his legacy be?
The crucial thing from a supporter's perspective is that you want your overseas players to be here for the whole summer, not to pop in and out. You want them to be part of the makeup of the dressing room over a number of years. You want to see them doing it day in and day out, giving their all. With Kyle, every time I see him, it always comes across to me that it really means something for him to play for Hampshire. He has been a tremendous signing from day one. A consistently top performer, a great club man and a joy to watch for all Hampshire supporters. His place in the rich history of this club is assured.