Battered spinner still key to cup
Australian T20 captain Mitch Marsh is adamant spin star Adam Zampa is not just his team’s most important bowler but its most important player heading to the World Cup despite his Perth horror show, where he was blasted for 65 runs from four overs.
Zampa returned his worst figures in 77 T20 internationals after the West Indians took him for a mammoth 28 runs in the penultimate over of Tuesday’s victory in Perth, including four sixes.
It was a rare rough night for 31year-old
Zampa, who conceded more than 50 runs in an T20I innings for the first time ever.
But Zampa’s big tournament bowling has been a key plank in two recent World Cup wins for Australia as the leading wicket-taker in the T20 World Cup triumph in the UAE in 2021, and again in the ODI World Cup in India last year taking 23 scalps.
Selectors are likely to once again back Zampa as the sole specialist spinner for the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and US, with off-spinning allrounder Glenn Maxwell his bowling buddy.
Marsh, who is set to captain the team at the tournament, said one bad night had not reduced the level of trust he would have in Zampa when the big moments arrive in the tournament.
“Any bowler that comes up against that line-up on their day, it’s hard work,” Marsh said after the 37-run loss.
“He bowled some tough overs tonight.
“We were banking on breaking that partnership at some stage and I held ‘Zamps’ back there, but unfortunately, we came off second best.
“‘Zamps’ is by far our most important bowler and probably our most important player.” really