Adam Zampa

This article is about the Australian cricketer. For the Slovak alpine ski racer, see Adam Žampa.

Adam Zampa

Zampa playing for Melbourne Stars, January 2023
Personal information
Born	(1992-03-31) 31 March 1992 (age 32) Shellharbour, New South Wales, Australia
Height	175 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm Leg-Break
Role	Bowler
International information
National side	Australia (2016–present)
ODI debut (cap 212)	6 February 2016 v New Zealand
Last ODI	19 November 2023 v India
ODI shirt no.	88
T20I debut (cap 82)	7 March 2016 v South Africa
Last T20I	1 September 2023 v South Africa
T20I shirt no.	88
Domestic team information
Years	Team
2012/13	New South Wales
2012/13	Sydney Thunder
2013/14–2019/20	South Australia
2013/14–2014/15	Adelaide Strikers
2015/16–2022/23	Melbourne Stars
2016–2017	Rising Pune Supergiants
2016	Guyana Amazon Warriors
2018–2019	Essex
2018	Jamaica Tallawahs
2020/21–present	New South Wales
2021	Royal Challengers Bangalore
2022	Welsh Fire
2023	Rajasthan Royals
2023	Oval Invincibles
2023/24	Melbourne Renegades
Career statistics
Competition ODI T20I FC LA Matches 93 73 40 138 Runs scored 285 48 1,221 797 Batting average 9.50 6.00 22.20 14.49 100s/50s 0/0 0/0 0/6 0/3 Top score 36 13* 74 66 Balls bowled 4,890 1,565 8,015 7,409 Wickets 162 82 111 233 Bowling average 27.83 22.23 46.98 28.63 5 wickets in innings 1 1 2 1 10 wickets in match 0 0 1 0 Best bowling 5/35 5/19 6/62 5/35 Catches/stumpings 17/– 10/— 9/– 27/–
Medal record Men's Cricket Representing  Australia ICC Cricket World Cup Winner 2023 India ICC T20 World Cup Winner 2021 UAE and Oman
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 10 November 2023

Adam Zampa (born 31 March 1992) is an Australian international cricketer who represents Australian cricket team in limited-overs cricket. Zampa was a member of the Australian teams that won the 2023 Cricket World Cup and the 2021 T20 World Cup.

Youth career

As a child, Zampa bowled medium pace, but Cricket Australia had placed restrictions on how many overs pace bowlers were allowed to bowl in under-14 matches, so he decided to change his bowling style to leg spin, inspired by Australian Test cricketer Shane Warne.^[1] Zampa made his way into Australia's under-19 team in 2009 and has earned a rookie contract with the Blues in 2010^[2] after playing a role by representing Australia in their successful 2010 Under-19 Cricket World Cup campaign.^[3] Zampa played in two youth Test matches and eight youth ODIs, taking 11 wickets across the two formats.^[4][5]

Domestic career (2010–2016)

In New South Wales (2010–2013)

As a result of Zampa's youth career for Australia, he was given a rookie contract with New South Wales in 2010,^[3] but he didn't get any opportunities to prove himself at state-level because New South Wales also had a number of other successful spin bowlers, such as Nathan Hauritz, Steve O'Keefe and Steve Smith.^[1] He did get another opportunity to represent Australia before his first-class debut, playing in the 2011 Hong Kong Cricket Sixes.^[6]

Zampa made his first-class debut for New South Wales in the 2012–13 Sheffield Shield season against Queensland. He took five wickets in a three-wicket win.^[7] Despite not having a contract with a Big Bash League team until a week before BBL|02 began, he played for the Sydney Thunder and was highly rated by Trevor Hohns.^[1] He finished the season having played three first-class matches, taking ten wickets at an average of 23 runs per wicket.^[8]

In South Australia (2013–2016)

After the season he accepted an offer to play for South Australia, in both first-class and one-day matches and for South Australia's Twenty20 team, the Adelaide Strikers. He was tempted by the guaranteed starts he would get in South Australia's team as they had just lost Test spinner Nathan Lyon to New South Wales.^[8] During the 2013 winter, he spent three months training at the Centre of Excellence before joining the South Australian squad for the 2013–14 season.^[9] The move to South Australia proved a useful one for progressing Zampa's career as he had the opportunity to work with experienced South African spinner Johan Botha, who was the captain of the South Australian side at the time of his move.^[10]

Zampa had an impressive performance in the 2014–15 Matador BBQs One-Day Cup, getting on a hat-trick and taking overall figures of 4/18 despite South Australia losing the match to Western Australia.^[11] In 2015, Zampa signed on for the Redbacks for two more seasons, but in order to get more experience, he changed Twenty20 sides to the Melbourne Stars, where he would have the opportunity to play alongside international stars Michael Clarke and Kevin Pietersen.^[12]

The 2015–16 summer was the most successful of Zampa's career to that point. He impressed in both List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, and in 2016, was included in Australia's squad for both One Day Internationals and Twenty20 Internationals,^[13] but he struggled in first-class cricket.^[14] In the 2015–16 Matador BBQs One-Day Cup, he recorded figures of 4/48 against Cricket Australia XI to help take South Australia into the tournament's elimination final.^[15] In BBL|05, he was part of an unusual dismissal, running out Peter Nevill with his nose.^[16]

Franchise cricket

In April 2022, he was bought by the Welsh Fire for the 2022 season of The Hundred.^[17]

International career (2016–present)

He made his ODI debut on 6 February 2016 in the second match of 2015–16 Chappell–Hadlee Trophy series.^[18] He made his Twenty20 International debut for Australia against South Africa on 4 March 2016.^[19] Zampa became a regular member of both the ODI and T20I squad for Australia.^[20] Zampa was named in Australia's squad for the 2016 World Twenty20 before he'd made his T20I debut for Australia in South Africa.^[21] Despite how recently he'd been added to the squad, he was Australia's leading wicket-taker with five wickets at an average of 13.80 and an economy rate of 6.27,^[20] including a breakout performance against Bangladesh with figures of 3/23.^[22]

With Zampa's rise to Australia's national team he also started to play in Twenty20 franchises as an overseas player. Playing for Rising Pune Supergiant in the Indian Premier League against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, he took 6 wickets for 19 runs and ranked as the third best performance as a bowler in the history of the IPL after 6/14 by Sohail Tanvir and 6/12 by Alzarri Joseph. Zampa bowled his first over for the match in the 8th over of Sunrisers Hyderabad's innings, but was taken out of the attack immediately without taking a wicket. He wasn't brought back on until the 16th over, in which he took one wicket. Captain MS Dhoni gave him an extended spell after his wicket, and he took two wickets in the 18th over and three more wickets in the 20th over, bringing his total to six.^[23] He was named man of the match for his performance, and this was also the record for the best bowling figures by a bowler in Twenty20 history in a losing side.^[24] Zampa also played in the Caribbean Premier League for the Guyana Amazon Warriors, taking the most wickets out of all spin bowlers for the tournament with 15 wickets at an average of 18.46.^[14]

Zampa was surprisingly dropped from Australia's Twenty20 side for the second match of a three-match series against Sri Lanka in 2016–17 after bowling well in the series opener and taking two wickets. Zampa described being dropped as a "kick in the guts", saying his recent form indicated he was one of the best Twenty20 spin bowlers in the world. Without Zampa Australia lost both the match and the series.^[25] Zampa was brought back into the side for the final match of the series, and he was named the man of the match with 3/25 as Australia won the game.^[26]

Despite all of Zampa's successes in the shorter forms of cricket, he was still unable to break into Australia's Test side. He was unable to reach exceptional form in the Sheffield Shield, being a victim of South Australia's very strong pace attack, with Chadd Sayers and Kane Richardson taking all of the wickets themselves and not leaving opportunities for Zampa to stand out.^[26] Australia played a Test series in India in early 2017, and former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming touted him as a possible addition to Australia's squad given his ability to bowl well on Indian pitches,^[27] but he was not included in the squad.^[28] Instead, Zampa continued playing in the Sheffield Shield and had his first five-wicket haul in a first-class innings when he took career-best figures of 6/62 in the first innings against Queensland before taking another four wickets in the second innings to accomplish his first ten-wicket haul in a first-class match.^[29][30]

Zampa was in Australia's squad for the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy, but he didn't get many opportunities to play when two of Australia's three group stage matches were washed out and Australia was unable to progress to the finals.^[31] In April 2019, he was named in Australia's squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup.^[32][33] In August 2021, Zampa was named in Australia's squad for the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.^[34] On 4 November 2021, in Australia's T20 World Cup match against Bangladesh, Zampa took his first five-wicket haul in T20 cricket.^[35]

In March 2022, during the opening match of the series against Pakistan, Zampa took his 100th wicket in ODI cricket.^[36]

In September 2022, he took his first ODI five-wicket haul, against New Zealand in Cairns.^[37]

In September 2023, he tied with fellow Australian Mick Lewis, the unwanted record of most runs conceded by a bowler in ODIs,going 0/113 versus South Africa. This record was broken on October 25 when Bas de Leede of the Netherlands Recorded figures of 2/115 against Australia in the ICC World Cup 2023.^[38]

Zampa played a crucial part in Australia's successful 2023 ICC World Cup campaign. Zampa came into the tournament as the only specialist spinner in the team after Ashton Agar was removed from the squad due to injury.^[39] On October 16, 2023. He received the man of the match in Australia's first victory of the tournament against Sri Lanka with figures of 4/47.^[40] On 20 October 2023, Zampa was the pick of the bowlers taking 4 wickets giving 53 runs with an economy of 5.30 and helped his team to win over Pakistan.^[41] On November 3, 2023, against England. Zampa recorded figures of 3/21 dismissing set batsmen Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali. He also took a difficult catch in the outfield causing the dismissal of David Willey. Notably, he also added vital runs to the total from the lower order, scoring 29 runs off 19 deliveries. His all round effort earned him his second man of the match of the tournament.^[42] Zampa's consistency saw him finish the tournament as the 2nd highest wicket taker in the tournament. Taking 23 wickets from 11 matches, the most wickets ever taken by an Australian Spinner at a World Cup and tying Murali's record of the most wickets ever taken at a World Cup by a spinner.^[43]

Personal life

Zampa is married to Harriet Palmer, the couple have a son.^[44][45] He is vegan and has appeared in advertisements for PETA.^[46]

References

1. Wu, Andrew (8 January 2013). "Zampa shines through Thunder's gloom as future spin star". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
2. "Adam Zampa. cricket.com.au". www.cricket.com.au. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
3. "Adam Zampa". cricket.com.au. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
4. "All-round records | Under-19s Youth Test matches | ESPNcricinfo Statsguru". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
5. "All-round records | Under-19s Youth One-Day Internationals | ESPNcricinfo Statsguru". ESPNcricinfo.
6. "Adam Zampa to join Hong Kong sixes squad". cricketnsw.com.au. 25 October 2011. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
7. "17th Match, Sheffield Shield at Canberra, Nov 27-30 2012". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
8. Earle, Richard (16 April 2013). "South Australia poach young spinner Adam Zampa from NSW but stand to lose Nathan Lyon". The Daily Telegraph. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
9. Walsh, Scott (4 May 2013). "Spin bowler Adam Zampa, described as a 'clone' of Shane Warne, ready for new challenge with South Australia". The Daily Telegraph. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
10. Brettig, Daniel (24 April 2013). "Nathan Lyon to join New South Wales". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
11. "Western Australia scrape home for tight win". ESPNcricinfo. 8 October 2014. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
12. Middleton, Dave (17 April 2015). "'Other' Stars recruits could shine brightest". cricket.com.au. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
13. "Player Profile: Adam Zampa". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
14. Coverdale, Brydon (12 August 2016). "Zampa hoping to improve red-ball credentials". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
15. "Spinners put Redbacks into elimination final". ESPNcricinfo. 21 October 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
16. Macpherson, Will (9 January 2016). "Nevill run out off Zampa's nose". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
17. "The Hundred 2022: latest squads as Draft picks revealed". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
18. "Debutant Zampa impresses". ESPNcricinfo. 6 February 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
19. "Australia tour of South Africa, 1st T20I: South Africa v Australia at Durban, Mar 4, 2016". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
20. "Wisden Cricketer of the Year 2010 Michael Clarke". ESPNcricinfo. 2010.
21. Brettig, Daniel (9 February 2016). "Australia selectors build a squad from hunches". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
22. Brettig, Daniel (21 March 2016). "Zampa and Khawaja help scrappy Australia to victory". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
23. Venugopal, Arun (10 May 2016). "'It was pretty hard to hit spin today' - Zampa". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
24. "Records. Twenty20 matches. Bowling records. Best figures in a innings when on the losing side". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
25. "Zampa axing 'a kick in the guts'". cricket.com.au. 22 February 2017. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
26. Earle, Richard (24 February 2017). "Adam Zampa to push national selection claims in Sheffield Shield". AdelaideNow. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
27. Landsberger, Sam (11 January 2017). "Leg-spinner Adam Zampa bowls perfect pace for Indian conditions, according to Stephen Fleming". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
28. Buckley, James (21 January 2017). "Australia v Pakistan: Adam Zampa takes veiled swipe at Test selectors after being left out of India tour squad". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
29. "Zampa six-for scythes through Queensland". ESPNcricinfo. 25 February 2017. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
30. "South Australia need 121 on final day, Queensland need six wickets". ESPNcricinfo. 27 February 2017. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
31. Coverdale, Brydon (6 June 2017). "'We're looking at England game as a quarter-final' - Zampa". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
32. "Smith and Warner make World Cup return; Handscomb and Hazlewood out". ESPNcricinfo. 15 April 2019. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
33. "Smith, Warner named in Australia World Cup squad". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
34. "Josh Inglis earns call-up and key names return in Australia's T20 World Cup squad". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
35. "Zampa takes five wickets as Australia bowl out Bangladesh for 73". Yahoo! News. Archived from the original on 4 November 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
36. "Returning Head stars as depleted Aussies win big". Cricket Australia. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
37. "Adam Zampa shines and Aaron Finch fails again as Australia down New Zealand to secure ODI series". ABC News. 8 September 2022. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
38. "AUS vs NED, ICC Cricket World Cup 2023/24, 24th Match at Delhi, October 25, 2023 - Full Scorecard". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
39. "Labuschagne replaces Agar in Australia's World Cup squad". ESPNcricinfo. 28 September 2023. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
40. "AUS vs SL, ICC Cricket World Cup 2023/24, 14th Match at Lucknow, October 16, 2023 - Full Scorecard". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
41. "AUS vs PAK, ICC Cricket World Cup 2023/24, 18th Match at Bengaluru, October 20, 2023 - Full Scorecard". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
42. "AUS vs ENG, ICC Cricket World Cup 2023/24, 36th Match at Ahmedabad, November 04, 2023 - Full Scorecard". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
43. Sportstar, Team (19 November 2023). "IND vs AUS: Zampa equals Muralitharan for most wickets by spinner in single ODI World Cup edition". sportstar.thehindu.com. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
44. Young, Chris (10 February 2020). "Players and partners dazzle on red carpet at Australian Cricket Awards". Yahoo News. Retrieved 11 September 2020.^{[permanent dead link]}
45. Singh, Anirudh. "RCB's Director of Cricket confirms Adam Zampa's marriage". CricketTimes.com. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
46. Shemilt, Stephan (7 September 2020). "Adam Zampa: Australia's vegan, whisky-loving coffee connoisseur". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 September 2020.

External links

• Adam Zampa at ESPNcricinfo