KFC BBL11: Star Aussie spinner Adam Zampa contemplates walking out on Big Bash season
Too many games with low crowds and new Covid rules have taken the fun out of the Big Bash for one Aussie T20 star and he reveals he may not see the tournament through to the end.
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The Big Bash is too long, no longer fun and star Australian spinner Adam Zampa has not ruled out withdrawing as the long season and life inside the competition’s biosecurity bubble continues to take its toll.
The T20 World Cup winner was one of 13 Stars players to test positive to Covid in the past fortnight, forcing him to isolate in his hotel room for seven days and ruling him out of two matches.
He returned to the Melbourne line-up on Monday, along with five teammates who had also previously caught the virus, to captain the Stars to victory over Adelaide at the MCG, but revealed he has already come close to pulling the pin on the tournament.
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“I considered last week several times to get out of isolation and go home, that crossed my mind,” Zampa said.
“It changes every day, I’m still not writing it off. I’m always going to put my mental health first. If I feel like I’m ever going to walk out, play a game of professional cricket and I’m not up for it, then I know I need some time away.
“It’s a bit of a relief just to be playing cricket again. You obviously go through a mix of emotions finding out you’ve got Covid, knowing you have to spend a week (isolating) and then try and get up to playing professional cricket again.
“A few of the boys are still feeling pretty flat tonight. Personally, it’s taken it out of me tonight.”
Veteran fast bowler James Pattinson withdrew from the rest of the Melbourne Renegades games as the season took a toll and Hurricanes captain Matthew Wade also opted not to immediately join his team in the new Melbourne bubble.
Beyond the Covid restrictions Zampa said he has struggled to enjoy the long BBL this summer and suggested the season should have been shortened from 14 regular-season games per side.
“It’s actually really hard, we haven’t been able to have much fun to be honest with you,” he said.
“Other than sitting in your hotel room getting takeaway coffees, there’s nothing else to do. Melbourne is a bit of a ghost town at the moment anyway.
“Big Bash used to be a great time, a very good time, and unfortunately with the world as it is at the moment, it’s getting a lot harder, the season’s probably too long, and it definitely feels like it’s dragging on again.
“I’m definitely personally going through periods where it’s feeling tougher than usual to get up for.
“When it was an eight-game season it actually felt like the cricket was more competitive because you had to play well straight away.”
Spending so much time away from home, starting with the T20 World Cup in October, has added to Zampa’s struggles to get up for the BBL.
“Obviously the World Cup was mentally draining, it was such a high as well obviously winning it, and then coming down from that almost felt like it was going to take a few games to get into the (BBL) tournament,” he said.
“Then obviously the up-and-down nature that it has kind of thrown at us with COVID and the hand we’ve been dealt with the last two games previous to this, so it’s hard.
“We know we’ve got like five games in the next eight days as well, so it’s a really big ask, so it’s hard to get up for.”
Identity crisis: BBL’s desperate plan to finish the season
- Sam Landsberger
Big Bash clubs are facing an identity crisis with Cricket Australia endorsing a radical plan that will see players go from teammates to enemies overnight in a desperate bid to finish the season.
A day after former selector Mark Waugh vented his anger at batsman Justin Avendano opening the batting for Sydney Sixers and Melbourne Stars within a week, the BBL signed off on a centralised pool of replacement players for clubs to dip into whenever coronavirus or injuries strike.
News Corp has become aware of more than 50 players who have either contracted the virus or been deemed a close contact and with almost three weeks remaining the mandate is to limp to the finish line using whatever players are available, even if they have to jump from team to team.
Melbourne Renegades strike weapon James Pattinson also missed a match despite testing negative because his PCR test was still pending.
“If there’s enough heads flying around with certain coloured shirts on then the competition goes ahead,” displeased Melbourne Stars fill-in captain Adam Zampa said.
There is widespread frustration in the playing ranks that grade cricketers who do not hold BBL contracts are wearing their shirts and representing their clubs while real squad members are sick quarantining in bed.
Some of Australia’s World Cup heroes are wondering why they raced home to light up the BBL instead of enjoying a well-earned break when it is now clear the show can simply go on without them.
Broadcasters are also upset that the quality of the product has nosedived because of the unrecognisable names as Cricket Australia refused to shrink the season because of its $1.2 billion television contract.
There is also genuine sympathy for tournament organisers, who could not have foreseen the rampant outbreaks which only penetrated the BBL bubble about 25 games into the season.
They have worked tirelessly to keep the season rolling in the face of the Covid storm and have done an astonishing job to push ahead as the season descended into a health lottery.
But the impersonation game will only increase after the establishment of the centralised replacement pool, where players have been assigned a ‘home’ club to train with before they are tapped to play for a rival club.
The replacement players are Nicholas Bertus (Sixers), Jake Carder (Scorchers), Iain Carlisle (Hurricanes), Daniel Drew (Strikers), Jake Doran (Stars), Lachlan Hearne (Thunder), Lachlan Pfeffer (Heat) and Brayden Stepien (Renegades).
That pool is expected to grow considerably. Pfeffer, a 30-year-old schoolteacher from Queensland, whacked 69 (51) for Heat on Saturday.
But with captain Jimmy Peirson set to return on Wednesday the wicket-keeper’s next BBL match will almost certainly be in different colours, possibly against the Heat.
The BBL infection list does not include Tom Rogers and Brayden Stepien, who tested positive after they received phone calls from the Covid-ravaged Melbourne Stars to help them field on January 2.
Rogers made 32 (25) but tested positive after that match while Stepien tested positive before he was able to join the Stars’ camp.
Aussie T20 star slams CA for ‘taking p***’ out of BBL
Cricket Australia has been accused of “taking the piss” out of the Big Bash League’s marquee match, with Adam Zampa fearing the unrecognisable teams being rolled out as Covid replacements are trashing a brand that took a decade to build.
Melbourne Stars will welcome back nine players from isolation against Adelaide Strikers on Monday night and Zampa will stand-in as captain with Glenn Maxwell still recovering from coronavirus.
Last Monday Zampa watched a bunch of uncontracted grade cricketers wearing green shirts get destroyed by arch-rival Melbourne Renegades on TV while sick in bed with the virus.
It was the Stars’ second big loss in as many days as they sunk to the bottom of the ladder, which did not sit well with the quarantining players.
“When does the line get crossed there?” Zampa said on Sunday.
“We’ve worked really, really hard at the brand of BBL and (are) really careful about how we go about BBL and making sure that it stays the same and we have fun playing it, like we have in the past.
“Once that gets questioned and once the integrity of the competition starts to be in doubt that’s when the line gets crossed.”
Asked if Cricket Australia should’ve forced the Stars to keep playing with almost all of their squad battling the virus, Zampa said: “I reckon if I answered it honestly I’d get in a little bit of trouble”.
BBL bosses will meet this week to rubber-stamp rules for replacing players in finals with Covid almost certain to wreak havoc.
But Zampa said it was clear that clubs who suffer an outbreak would have to grit their teeth and play on, like the Stars and Brisbane Heat did last week.
“I think it’s obvious what’s going to happen – find as many players as you can, field a team and get the game on TV, because that’s obviously what’s most important,” he said.
“The answer’s out there. It’s happened to the Stars, it’s happened to the Brissy Heat, it’s probably going to happen to more teams as well.
“If there’s enough heads flying around with certain coloured shirts on then the competition goes ahead.”
Zampa has “super immunity” as a double-vaccinated person who has fought off the “spicy cough”.
But while that should ensure he isn’t wiped out of the finals that was of little consolation.
“My team is now sitting in last place and we’re staring down the barrel of missing (finals) again. So it’s getting desperate times in terms of performance,” he said.
“We’re sitting last on the table which I really don’t think is where we deserve to be sitting.”
Zampa said there was “absolutely no communication” from CA before the tournament on what would happen if Covid ripped through a club.
“We’re in a hub now which was promised to us wasn’t going to happen. We’re here now, unfortunately it’s ended up this way,” he said.
“The derby day scheduled for January 3 you would think you would want two full-strength squads available.
“Competitions like this are built on rivalries – Renegades-Stars, Scorchers-Sixers and Sixers-Thunder.
“I think the derby day was taken the piss out of a little bit, and that was because it was set in stone on January 3 and that day makes a lot of money for broadcasters and Cricket Australia.
“I don’t necessarily say it was right or wrong, I don’t know what the other options were because we weren’t really communicated with around those things.”
BBL set to rule on doomsday scenario
The Big Bash League will sit down this week to decide whether the Grand Final could be played by a bunch of grade cricketers should Covid rip through a competing club at the wrong time in what would be a one-sided anti-climax to finish the season.
The doomsday scenario is a rising possibility as infections around Australia explode and the 300 Rapid Antigen tests being used daily in the BBL continue to detect cases within the bubble.
The league wants to reach a clear position on rules regarding replacement players for the compact five-match finals series after the virus-ravaged Melbourne Stars and Brisbane Heat were thrashed when they were forced to field a host of local ring-ins.
News Corp understands there is little wriggle room to delay the January 28 decider, meaning any player who contracts the virus from next week is likely to miss the start of the eight-day finals series.
Melbourne Stars will power through five games in the next seven days to help stick to that timeline after the BBL released a revised fixture on Saturday.
Multiple draft versions issued to clubs on Friday were tossed in the bin as more and more matches were relocated to Victoria, where all eight clubs will be based for the rest of the season.
Some games will still be played interstate, but under a fly-in and fly-out model on chartered planes to reduce the risk of exposure with the public.
Next Saturday’s ‘Sydney Smash’ between Sixers and Thunder at the SCG could be the final game in New South Wales, although those clubs – sitting in the top three on the ladder – would fight hard to return home to host finals.
Sydney Thunder and Hobart Hurricanes will now play each other at the MCG and Marvel Stadium this week in what will be low-drawing afternoon matches at neutral venues, a scenario the league had been desperate to avoid.
The season has largely become a TV product once again and the clear priority has been to get all 56 home-and-away matches staged plus finals to satisfy the $1.2 billion broadcast deal.
But the tournament is in danger of descending into a health lottery with long-time easy beats Melbourne Renegades leaping into finals contention on the back of two crushing victories against the Stars and Heat when they were floored by the virus.
Stars were without Marcus Stoinis, Joe Clarke, Joe Burns, Beau Webster, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Adam Zampa while Heat had Chris Lynn, Jimmy Pierson, Ben Duckett, Max Bryant, Xavier Bartlett, Jack Wildermuth, James Bazley, Mark Steketee and Matthew Kuhnemann all sidelined after positive tests.
“Does anyone know an infectious disease expert that knows about the short, medium and long term health effects of playing elite level sport a few days after contracting Covid? Asking for about 20 friends…,” Burns tweeted on Saturday.
Does anyone know an infectious disease expert that knows about the short, medium and long term health effects of playing elite level sport a few days after contracting covid? - asking for about 20 friends…
— Joe Burns (@joeburns441) January 8, 2022
Batsman Justin Avendano has been called into the Sixers’ squad for Sunday night’s game against the Scorchers six days after he opened the batting for the Stars as one of their Covid replacements.
The Stars will regain all of those players except Clarke for Monday night’s game against Adelaide Strikers at the MCG, with the Englishman still in isolation because he tested positive three days later than the bulk of the squad.
But they will be without captain Glenn Maxwell, who caught it on Tuesday last week.
The Stars will then play Perth Scorchers at GMHBA Stadium on Tuesday, just 15 hours after their match against Strikers is likely to finish.
That will lead into a Renegades-Sixers match down the highway, which will be Geelong’s last taste of BBL before the ground is converted to footy mode for a Cats AFLW match on Saturday night.
BRUTAL BUBBLE SCHEDULE SET TO SAVE BBL SEASON
Every Big Bash League club will relocate to a hub in Victoria as the BBL released a plan to rush through 11 games in the next week to get their season back on track.
BBL clubs will now be located in the one central location in Victoria, with teams to fly in and fly out for interstate games for the rest of the season.
Victoria will host three double headers - January 10 (MCG), January 11 (GMHBA Stadium) and January 13 (Marvel Stadium) - while all games will be played at either the SCG, MCG, Marvel Stadium, GMHBA Stadium, Adelaide Oval or the Gabba.
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It means the Hobart Hurricanes and Sydney Thunder join Perth Scorchers in losing their home games.
The scheduling changes and hub creation means the BBL now has greater flexibility in their schedule with an ability to quickly replace teams crippled by positive Covid cases with another club that is in the hub.
“The past week has thrown many Covid-related challenges the Big Bash’s way, but throughout we have remained steadfast in our resolve to safely and successfully complete the season,” BBL general manager Alistair Dobson said.
“These changes are designed to help the League and Clubs deliver on this, while also reducing risks to players, support staff and the matches themselves. Having our players based in one state provides significantly greater flexibility to manage any further impacts of COVID-19.
“From challenges also comes opportunity and we are excited by the prospect of some huge double header matchdays in Geelong and Melbourne. We also look forward to retaining matches in Adelaide, Brisbane and the January 15 Derby in Sydney and seeing home fans turning out for these games.
“We thank everyone who continues to work so hard behind the scenes to safely deliver the competition including all players, League and Club staff, match officials, governments, broadcasters, partners, and venues.”
Originally published as KFC BBL11: Star Aussie spinner Adam Zampa contemplates walking out on Big Bash season
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