Have got thick skin, will bounce back: Zampa
TAKING IN HIS STRIDE Australia legspinner says he erred in bowling fuller length against Hardik Pandya to let India off the hook but has learnt his lesson
KOLKATA: In an interview to Hindustan Times during the 2016 Indian Premier League (IPL), Adam Zampa had said being thick-skinned is one his strengths. Should Australia keep the faith in this leg-spinner at Eden Gardens on Thursday, the kind of hide Zampa has will surely be tested.
“One of the reasons I have come a long way at such a young age is that I can put aside criticism….i’ve got quite a thick skin…. My biggest strength from a young age has been to see past the information that I thought is no good for me and continue to focus on my strengths,” Zampa had said during his first Indian Premier League season.
On Tuesday at Eden with rain forcing Australia to train indoors, Zampa looked back at Chennai to look ahead to the second game of this five-match ODI series.
“You never like being hit three sixes in a row. But I guess it does happen, probably happened to Shane Warne... As long as you don’t put yourself under too much pressure and learn from those situations…hopefully, I will get him (Hardik Pandya) out earlier next time,” he said.
ERRING IN LENGTH
The three sixes happened because Zampa felt he had erred in length on Sunday. “I did not execute how I would have liked to in the over against Hardik. It would have been important to get him off the strike... Probably I bowled three balls too full,” he said. All three sailed beyond the boundary as Pandya raced to a half-century and with MS Dhoni resurrected an India innings that, according to former Australia skipper Michael Clarke, should have ended at 130 or thereabouts.
“As soon as you miss against a player like Hardik, it’s going to go the distance,” said Zampa who finished on 1/66 in 10 overs. “I pride myself on bowling well under pressure but the other day I did not execute it too well. It was very important to try and break that partnership and obviously we did not bowl too well in the middle.”
What gives a spinner some leeway in Australia is that the grounds are bigger, said Zampa explaining why length becomes more important in India.
CREDIT TO DHONI
And what helped Pandya play the way he did was the presence of MS Dhoni, said Zampa. “…To have him as a guide for a young player Hardik and other young players in the Indian team is very helpful.”
The game being reduced to 20 overs didn’t help, said Zampa, and losing the top order early meant it would be difficult to face the spinners who were “pretty hard to pick at night.”
But come Thursday and all that should be behind Australia. Zampa said he backed the variety in their bowling and took a lot of positives from the quicks (Nathan Coulter-nile and Pat Cummins) bowling really well.
INDIA WOMEN BEAT BELGIUM BOYS
ANTWERP (BELGIUM): The Indian women’s hockey team ended their Europe Tour on a high after getting the better of the Belgium U-16 men’s team 4-3 in a thrilling encounter here.
For India, Gurjit Kaur (7th and 11th minutes) and captain Rani (13th and 33rd minutes) scored twice to give the visitors their first win of the tour.
A rampant Indian team started the match with enthralling attacking play as they earned a penalty corner in the 7th minute, which was converted by Gurjit to give India lead.
FERDINAND LAUNCHES BOXING CAREER
LONDON: Former England captain Rio Ferdinand said he is launching a new career as a professional boxer two years after retiring from football as a way of channelling his anger. MANCHESTER: England white-ball captain Eoin Morgan has urged Ben Stokes to retain his competitive approach despite t he prospect of facing longstanding antagonist Marlon Samuels in the ODI series against West Indies. This series, that began on Tuesday, is set to feature the latest chapter in the fiery relationship between Stokes and Samuels.
West Indies batsman Samuels ‘saluted’ Stokes off the pitch in a Test in Grenada two years ago, a gesture that riled the England allrounder.
The pair then exchanged words during West Indies’ 2016 World Twenty20 final win over England in Kolkata -- a match where Samuels, who made 85 not out, was at the other end when Carlos Brathwaite hit four successive sixes off Stokes in the last over to give the Caribbean side the title. “I want Ben to be himself,” Morgan said on Monday. “I want Ben to get into the contest of a game. It’s part and parcel of his character and part and parcel of getting the best out of Ben Stokes. I’ve no worries at all.” Following the World Twenty20 final, Samuels said Stokes was a “nervous lad”.
But Samuels indicated he would be on his best behaviour in England, having not featured during the recent Test series because of a dispute with West Indies cricket chiefs and a clash with the Caribbean Premier League.
I pride myself on bowling well under pressure but the other day I did not execute the plan too well. It was very important to try and break that partnership and obviously we did not bowl too well in middle overs.
COLOMBO:
To have him as a guide for young Hardik and other young players in the Indian team is very helpfu.