New South Wales selector Stuart Clark spoke at length on the circumstances under which they had to include Adam Zampa for their Sheffield Shield game against Tasmania.
“Adam is a very experienced cricketer who is a great addition to our group,” Cricket NSW chief of cricket performance Greg Mail had told the media when the state side picked Zampa for their Sheffield Shield match against Tasmania.
It was an interesting choice. One of Australia’s greatest limited-overs cricketers, Zampa is yet to play a Test match, and had only 111 wickets from 40 first-class games until then, the last of which had come in 2022-23. Zampa took 3-96 and 1-44 on comeback (his bowling average in the format reads 46.56), but NSW lost the game.
To accommodate Zampa, NSW had to leave out 23-year-old leg-spinner Tanveer Sangha, whose 12 first-class games have fetched him 34 wickets at 36.29 – though, to be fair, Sangha went wicketless in his last Sheffield Shield match, against South Australia.
Stuart Clark: CA's comments don't make sense
Speaking to abc.net.au, Clark made his opinion on Zampa’s selection clear: “When it came to Adam Zampa, we didn’t have a discussion, because there was no need to. We were told he had to play.
Pushing for Test selection on Australia's upcoming tour of Sri Lanka, Adam Zampa made his return for NSW.
— ABC SPORT (@abcsport) November 30, 2024
It was the legspinner's first Sheffield Shield game since February 2023 but critics questioned why he had been picked ahead of Tanveer Sangha.
🎧: https://t.co/82nHzoynsj pic.twitter.com/9LRu2K9Msf
“I don’t understand what the comment of Cricket Australia is. We didn’t need to have a robust debate about his selection. It was a forgiven [sic] conclusion that he was in the team. I don’t know where this comment comes from. We don’t understand this, because what we were told to do and what’s coming out in the press is exactly the opposite. They don’t make sense."
The comment Clark is talking about is the one made by Cricket Australia high-performance manager Ben Oliver two days back, where he said: "Ultimately, selection for each Sheffield Shield or domestic match is very much the realm of the state association," implying that no directive had been issued to NSW.
“So either we the selectors have got it wrong – I don’t know, we misunderstood – but I’m pretty clear that we got messages that he must be in the team," Clark added.
“I’m not saying he wouldn’t have been in the team. We didn’t have that discussion. We have got Tanveer Sangha, we have got other spinners in the squad. We didn’t have to discuss them, because the decision had already been made.”
While calling Zampa a “world-class white-ball bowler,” Clark emphasised on what he expected of the world champion leg-spinner if he wanted a first-class cricket career: “If we wanted to be part of the four-day setup, then [he] probably needs to be around and come to training, play a bit of grade cricket, things like that.
“He’s a quality bowler. There’s no reason he couldn’t be successful over a period of time. From my point of view, if he wants to play, it’s a matter for Adam to let the Cricket Australia people know. He is contracted with them. The message will flow down, what they think. Then we can consider him when we pick a team rather than putting him into it.”
Zampa on Test cricket: It's something I'd like to do
The New South Wales selection saga comes amid murmurs that Zampa might be in line for a surprise Test debut during Australia's tour of Sri Lanka early next year.
Zampa himself is looking forward to the challenge, and is hoping to get "mileage in his legs" before a potential red-ball call up. "It's something I'd like to do and challenge myself at," he said a couple of days back. "If I got to end my career and it didn't pan out that way then I'd be okay with it.
"I might look back one day and feel like maybe I didn't give it a 100 per cent crack. I feel like playing these games and putting my hand up for the Sri Lanka tour and being keen for that is fine.
"It's important if I am on that tour that I have a bit of mileage in my legs and it's not a huge shock to the system because Sunday (November 24) was."
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