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Adam Zampa, who hasn’t played first-class cricket in the past six years, is still hoping to don the baggy green shirt because he is sure that his skills will hold up in Test matches.
Zampa had already expressed his regret at missing the India Test series of last year, when he was informed he had a strong chance of being selected before Mitchell Swepson of Queensland was chosen by the selectors.
Due to his rigorous white-ball schedule, Zampa has only participated in two first-class matches since 2019. These were for New South Wales, as the player returned to his home state in 2020 after spending seven years in South Australia. Prior to that, he had only participated in six since 2017.
“I think, realistically, [I’m] still a chance to play Test cricket,” he told the Final Word podcast. “If I was playing a lot of Shield cricket right now with the way I’m bowling, the bowler I am, think I’d be fine, I’d be doing really well. The few games I have played in the last couple of years are suggestive of that.”
Even though it’s uncommon for home Test matches to have two spinners, Australia will use a range of spin-bowling alternatives to help Nathan Lyon during their two-Test series in Sri Lanka early in 2019. Zampa may have a rare opportunity to play Sheffield Shield cricket during the summer calendar, either before or after Pakistan visits for ODIs and T20Is in November.
Though Glenn Maxwell is also a possibility for the Sri Lanka trip, Australia’s selectors have previously stated that Sheffield Shield results are not the only factor considered when choosing players for subcontinent tours. Zampa, whose first-class average is an ugly 46.98, is confident that his game could improve these days.
“Even if I do get picked in the upcoming subcontinent tours, people will say, well his record is averaging 46 with the ball, it’s not good enough, people will say that I’m sure, but if I do get picked I’ll know that the way I feel like I’m bowling, it’ll be fine,” he said.
Regardless of whether Zampa plays Test cricket for his country, he has made it plain that representing Australia will come before playing for a franchise, especially in the wake of their 2023 ODI World Cup victory. This year, he announced that he has inked a two-year central contract with Cricket Australia and withdrew from the MLC and IPL.
“I was lucky to…be part of a winning World Cup team,” he said. “Looking forward, the franchise thing isn’t for me. I want to keep playing for Australia as long as I can, the feeling of success in that team is something I want more of. I’m lucky enough to have signed a two-year with Australia and it’s on the basis of wanting to play every game for Australia. It meant I had to make some decisions around franchise cricket.”