Spinner Adam Zampa says selectors were clear with him when he was dropped last year
Australia’s selectors have been criticised for sending mixed messages to players they don’t pick but leg spinner Adam Zampa said they were clear with him about what he needed to do so he went away and worked harder.
Adam Zampa has defended Australia’s under fire-selectors even after the leg spinner fell foul of the panel.
The selectors have been criticised for sending mixed messages to players on the outer but Zampa said the chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns couldn’t have been more straightforward with him when he was dropped from the side last year.
“I was very disappointed in getting dropped from the ODI squad that went to England. I also didn't get a CA contract so it was a wake up call really,” Zampa said.
“I was angry at the time but I also had a really good conversation with him (Hohns) about things I needed to work on.”
Zampa said Hohns had once told him not to be too hard on himself because wrist spin was “the hardest thing in cricket” but he was also very clear about what areas he needed to work on when he given the axe.
Zampa said he had choice between feeling sorry for himself or rolling up his sleeves and he opted to go back to work.
“I can go and sook and whinge but I went away to England and the Caribbean and worked on my game,” Zampa said.
“I'm still working on my game. I'm certainly not the perfect bowler at the moment because I'm still going through a few things I’d like to get better at.”
Zampa’s demotion rocked the young tweaker after he was the world’s leading wicket taker in ODIs in 2016, taking 30 wickets for the year, but he said he has steadily regained his confidence.
He picked up the prized wickets of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Lokesh Rahul in the recent T20 series against India but the inclusion of Nathan Lyon in the Australian ODI squad has raised more questions than answers about Australia’s spin strategy for the World Cup.
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Zampa believes there’s room for two specialist spinners in ODIs as has been the established trend in T20s.
“Hopefully we get the opportunity to play together because I think moving forward we can be an asset to us going into the World Cup,” Zampa said.
“I've never been part of the World Cup, but you'd assume once the tournament goes on the wickets will get tired. So hopefully it does suit the spinners.”
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