Australia spinner Adam Zampa has voiced his frustration at former players for being overtly critical of the national team’s performance.
Several ex-Australia cricketers have been vocal in their criticism of current team members during their media careers. Among them are Australia legends and former captains such as Michael Clarke and Matthew Hayden.
The most scathing incident perhaps came from Mitchell Johnson, who wrote an explosive column last year questioning whether there was a need for a farewell Test for David Warner, who hadn’t performed in the later stage of his Test career and was involved in the infamous ‘sandpaper’ gate scandal in 2018.
Speaking on the Final Word podcast, Zampa didn’t mince his words while answering the brutal assessments of his teammates by past cricketers.
"The way that I see it is, when ex-players come out, it’s almost like they’re talking about it on a big WhatsApp group or something, like 'let’s all back each other up and say the same s**t'," Zampa said. "There was a bit of time there where people were going really hard for us, and for an Australian cricketer looking forward to what I think I’m going to be like when I’m done … I’m like, ‘what are they doing?'
Ricky Ponting has ruled himself out of accepting the position of England’s white-ball head coach, left vacant by the departure of Matthew Mott.
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Zampa added: "Just be thoughtful and actually try and help, and understand what it’s like to be a professional cricketer … you f***ing did it already, so why are you being such a f***wit about it?"
It’s worth noting that was not the only time Zampa has hit back at critics. When Australia won the 2023 Cricket World Cup, he took a dig on social media at Clarke, who didn’t miss the opportunity to criticise the team after they slumped to their second-straight defeat early on.
The wrist-spinner was one of the main reasons for Australia’s resurgence, finishing with 23 wickets, the second-highest in the tournament, at an average of 22.39 and an economy of 5.36.
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