| Cricket information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Batting | Right-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right-arm fast medium | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: CricketArchive (subscription required), 17 April 2020 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
William John Abel (29 August 1887 – 23 March 1934) was a first-class cricketer who played for Surrey County Cricket Club making his debut in 1909. He was a right-handed batsman and a right-arm bowler. He was born in South Bermondsey and died in Stockwell, London. His brother Tom Abel and father, the England and Surrey batsman Bobby Abel, were also first-class cricketers.[1][2][3]
His last appearance in the County team was in 1926 and, after a few games with the Second Eleven, he joined Accrington, the Lancashire League Club. A batsman of the unorthodox school, Abel was a pleasing, forcing player and, even though he never gained the distinction of obtaining a century in County Championship matches, he put together many useful scores. Abel won his Surrey cap in 1910 and scored his only first-class hundred, 117, against Cambridge University in 1923.[4] He took five wickets in an innings three times, with a best of 5 for 28 against Middlesex.[1]
His best season was 1923 when he had an aggregate of 957, while in 1914—when Surrey won the County Championship—he hit up 524 runs in sixteen County games with a highest score of 87. As a bowler, Abel began as fast-medium, but lessening his pace he exploited the leg-break and the googly. In his most successful season as a bowler 1919, he took thirty-seven wickets. He was a first-rate slip fielder. After serving in the First World War, Abel did not enjoy good health.[3]