Abell ready to make his mark

Few young cricketers better epitomise the stoicism advocated in Rudyard Kipling's celebrated poem If than Somerset's Tom Abell. For almost four hours this week, Abell kept his head when all about him were losing theirs. Yet again Somerset's fragile batting line-up lost wickets at regular intervals as 21-year-old Abell stood firm at the other end.

For the second time this season he carried his bat and was left agonisingly short of a maiden first-class hundred. His unbeaten 88 was the sole reason that Warwickshire required a second innings.

Under the watchful eye of England selector James Whittaker, he batted in his usual phlegmatic style, avoiding risk and stroking 13 boundaries in his fifth half-century of the summer. As Kipling advised, he calmly treats the "two imposters" of triumph and disaster just the same, but retains a fiercely competitive nature underneath that calm exterior.

That admirable temperament and strong character were in evidence from an early age when he played for his childhood club Taunton CC, whose current vice-captain Ben Orr says it was clear from the outset that he was a cut above most young batsmen.

"A fantastic technique and a natural ease to run-scoring on the pitch, partnered with a well-mannered, friendly approach off it, made it hard not to be enthusiastic about a decent young man," Orr says.

But no one was prepared for the innings Abell played at the age of 17 on a scorching summer's afternoon in August 2011 when he gave the first glimpse of just how special a talent he was. Playing away to Warminster, Taunton lost the toss and were made to toil in the field as they conceded well in excess of 300.

Few in the visitors' dressing room gave much for their chances, but having given the bowlers plenty of support throughout the heat of the afternoon, Abell was straight back out with bat in hand.

Orr takes up the story: "None of us expected to come close to the target, and whether Tom went out there to chase down those runs or just have a bat only he will know, but we came awfully close. Tom scored exactly 150 and, as has become the norm, there was nothing in the air.

"After an innings of bashing, big hits and massive sixes from Warminster, the way Tom set about tackling the huge total was mesmerising, just pure class and timing; back-foot drives, square drives, the tuck off his legs. Truth be known it was probably only Tom from our side that was disappointed that we had not chased down the runs [Taunton lost by just 17 runs] as the rest of us were in awe of his innings."

Fast forward three years and it was a similar story when Abell made his first-class debut for Somerset late last summer against Warwickshire at Taunton.

The stage was perfectly set. Playing in the town of his birth for the club he supported as a boy, the match situation demanded someone to demonstrate the kind of application and concentration that had been much in evidence throughout Abell's fledgling career with Somerset 2nd XI, Taunton CC and Taunton School. Despite losing his partner Nick Compton to the second ball after Abell arrived at the crease - and wickets continued to fall regularly at the other end throughout the remainder of the day - he calmly made his way to a maiden first-class fifty.

By late evening, he was in sight of becoming the first Somerset man since Harold Gimblett in 1935 to make a century on debut when he chipped Jeetan Patel to short midwicket, an agonising five runs short.

It had been an extremely mature knock under real pressure as no other top-order batsman had been able to apply themselves and make a score of any size. In all, Abell batted for four hours and 25 minutes, facing 188 balls and giving some of his more experienced team-mates a lesson in how to occupy the crease and build a score.

His talents were honed during his time at Taunton School where, as a prolific scorer, he was awarded the Young Wisden Schools Cricketer of the Year honour for a 2012 season in which he accumulated 1156 runs at the extraordinary average of 193. He made seven hundreds in 11 innings that summer and passed 50 every time. He also won the Cricket Society's Wetherell Award for best allrounder in school's cricket in 2012 and found time to have an England trial for hockey at under-16 level.

But it was more than quantity of runs which was attracting attention; it was the way he scored them, his temperament and application. Simon Hogg, master in charge of cricket during Abell's time at Taunton School had the "pleasure and honour" of watching Abell score more than 3600 runs for the first XI, including 17 centuries.

"He has always been a very elegant batsman, who rarely hits the ball in the air, but is capable of scoring runs all around the wicket," Hogg says. "From a young age, his timing and placement have been outstanding and his intelligence has helped him to understand his own game particularly well. Thomas's powers of concentration have enabled him to bat for long periods of time."

Abell's club chairman at Taunton, Jon Kerslake, agrees: "I've been lucky enough to play with some wonderful emerging cricketers over the years, including the likes of Graham Thorpe, Mark Ramprakash and Aftab Habib, but I've never seen anyone stroke the ball with such purity, grace and timing so consistently and from such a young age as Tom."

Kerslake, who has known Abell since he arrived at the club as an eight-year-old says he cannot speak highly enough of him in the way he conducts himself both on and off the pitch. "The great thing about him is that he's such a fantastic young man - extremely hard-working, modest and kind. He's an absolute credit to himself and his family and friends. He's held in so much affection and there's so much good will for him to do well."

Abell recently completed a degree in French and sports science at Exeter University and Somerset acted quickly to secure his talents for the long haul, giving him a contract until 2019.

He quickly rewarded that faith, by scoring back-to-back 70s in the Championship victory over Nottinghamshire at Taunton in mid-June, which helped kick start Somerset's season. In the first innings, Abell defiantly carried his bat and was the only batsman to make a sizeable score as Somerset were shot out for 200.

As he had at Warminster four years earlier, Abell expressed confidence that his side could chase down a huge score - this time in excess of 400 - to win. His belief turned out to be fully justified and it was fitting that it was his second innings half-century which provided the platform for Somerset to achieve the second highest run chase in their history.

Abell followed that with an innings of 88 as Somerset overwhelmingly beat Hampshire at Southampton a week later. Then came his 88 not out in the defeat at Edgbaston. If he is yet to reach three figures in first-class cricket, it is surely only a matter of time.