The Shane Warne like traits making Adam Zampa Australia’s most dangerous white ball bowler

ANALYSIS: Adam Zampa might not be Shane Warne, but he has become Warne-like, as his stunning white ball legacy continues to grow, writes BEN HORNE.

Adam Zampa might not be Shane Warne, but he has become Warne-like, as his stunning white ball legacy continues to grow.

Australia’s bid to claim cricket’s first-ever Triple Crown of World Cups is off to a flying start, after a dominant all-round performance destroyed England – and left their Super 8s qualification hopes hanging by a thread – in Barbados.

David Warner (39 off 16) and Travis Head (34 off 18) set the tone for Australia with a blistering power play, but Zampa claimed man-of-the-match honours for stopping England in their tracks at a point in the chase when their pursuit of 201 to win was quickly gathering speed.

Zampa laughs when asked about ‘comparisons to Warne’, but the appraisal is far from ludicrous when you consider he has been Australia’s most critical bowler in two World Cup triumphs and is time after time standing up as their No.1 game-breaker.

Like Warne was, Zampa is a big moment specialist and is very much his own man.

And that’s got nothing to do with the blond tips and earring.

Shane Warne was a man for the big moments. Picture: AFP

Since the dawn of time, leg-spinners have always been different – but for the decades before Warne, they were the little guys crumpled up in the corner of the bar, who their captains rarely understood.

Leggies were conditional players – needing a wearing wicket on the fourth or fifth day.

But Warne – and now Zampa in his own right – have taken the craft into their own hands.

Warne took 293 ODI wickets. Zampa now has 275 white ball wickets across ODIs and T20s.

Zampa has made himself, no matter the conditions or the match situation, the most dangerous man on the field and it is a credit to him.

“I try and play my role. I really want to put myself in a position to change the game,” Zampa said.

“We were under the pump early with the ball, going at 10s (an over) and I looked at the scoreboard and went, ‘alright, it’s time to stand up.’

“I absolutely love those situations. I’ve played a lot of cricket where you don’t feel like that and World Cups is exactly what you play for.

“And to be in those positions, it gets me going.”

That’s the Warne mentality.

Adam Zampa’s two-wicket spell decided the game for Australia. Picture: Gareth Copley/Getty Images

But for Zampa, it hasn’t come easily.

The boy from the south coast of NSW was in danger of being chewed up and spat out of Australian cricket like so many spinners before him, because of the Warne-effect – following in the wake of the GOAT.

“I never really thought of it that way to be honest. I had to fight for my position in the team for a long time and I was lucky enough to have captains that backed me,” Zampa said.

“Finchy (Aaron Finch) really backed me and it’s the same with Cummo (Pat Cummins) and Marshy (Mitchell Marsh) as well.

“I reckon I did the work when I was young. I went through some rough patches for sure. I got dropped. In and out of the team a little bit. And was probably in the team and not bowling that well. “But over the last few years that skill is definitely better than it was eight years ago when I started.

“The leadership (in this team) helps me feel at home.”

England were flying at 0-73 after seven overs and with Jos Buttler (42 off 28) and Phil Salt (37 off 23) at the crease were building a platform to chase down the biggest score of the tournament.

But then Zampa struck twice in three overs and the rest is history.

Shane Warne and Adam Zampa at Allan Border Field in 2010. Pic Darren England.

Unlike most of his teammates, Zampa pulled out of the recent IPL – to prioritise his young family – and before this tournament commenced had not played a match since February 25.

But Zampa is a world class competitor. Ask his captains and they will tell you, he lives for the contest and his planning and preparation is absolutely meticulous.

On match eve, Zampa and coach Andrew McDonald took to the Kensington Oval centre square and methodically planned every moment of his clinical dismantling of England, which defied the perilously short boundary that destroyed most other spinners in the match.

“It’s a beautiful thing about my relationship with Ronnie, is he’s invested,” Zampa said.

“(Spin coach) Dan Vettori is not here, so working with Ronnie is important. His knowledge about spin bowling and then having that good bowl with him out here yesterday really helped.

“Against the breeze, getting the right-handers to hit it out there, and getting used to it was really important. A little bit of work yesterday definitely helped today.

“I obviously made that decision a little while ago to pull out of the IPL and I thought it was the best thing for me moving forward into this World Cup.

“I was tired. I had some niggles and I’m a family man. Trying to put them first over work sometimes is pretty important.

“Everything just feels nice at the moment and I am a little bit of a slower starter, but it feels like a rare occasion where I’ve started how I want to.”