Travis Head says Adam Zampa can make Test debut by remaining with a Redbacks side that needs the tweaker to win Shield title
Redbacks skipper Travis Head believes Adam Zampa can make his Test debut without leaving South Australia, revealing the leg-spinner could be an outside chance of joining the Australian team for its upcoming red-ball tour of Bangladesh.
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Travis Head has urged leg-spinner Adam Zampa to double-down on his Test ambitions with South Australia, while welcoming unsettled former Australian opener Matt Renshaw to Adelaide.
Zampa, 27, has played three first-class matches over the past two seasons due to Australian limited-overs duties and SA’s preference to employ a four-man pace attack.
Falling behind Queensland’s Mitch Swepson in the Test spin pecking order has Zampa considering a switch, with home state New South Wales a natural fit.
“It’s about giving him the best opportunity to play for Australia. I know that’s been frustrating for him,” Redbacks skipper Head said yesterday.
“He’s been away for Australia a lot (over) the past 18 months.”
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Head believes Zampa will stay and should be chosen when available next season, conceding SA won’t break its 25-year Sheffield Shield drought without a frontline spinner.
“We’re screaming out for an all-round option to have four fast bowlers with ‘Zamps’ in the team,” he said.
“Sometimes it’s team make-up and sometimes it’s the wicket.
“If we want to be serious about winning a Shield, we have to be playing a leg-spinner.
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“You see every state with a very good spinner, and we haven’t had him enough this year.
“I would love him to be playing more four-day cricket for SA.”
Zampa’s impressive one-day form for Australia could make the tweaker a bolter to join Head on the mid-year Bangladesh Test tour.
“The way he’s bowling in one-day cricket, he’s someone who is potentially in line for Bangladesh. They might take a punt on him,” Head said.
Australia’s hectic white-ball itinerary over the next 12 months could complicate Zampa’s red-ball exposure and bid for a Test debut.
With 33 Twenty20 international wickets at 19, Zampa will be a key weapon in Australia’s home World Cup campaign during October/November.
“With the World Cup and one-day cricket, I don’t know how much we’ll see him next year,” Head said.
“Hopefully, he can have an impact for SA and wants to.”
Meanwhile, Head, as Strikers captain, is rolling out the red carpet for Renshaw who wants to leave Brisbane Heat after losing his Shield spot with Queensland.
“He’s an exceptional talent and we (would be) fortunate to have him at the Strikers,” he said.