Adam Zampa has sent a powerful message to the national selectors after he took three wickets for New South Wales in the Sheffield Shield after being overlooked twice on the Indian tour in the space of a few weeks.
The veteran player was absent from the original squad and was overlooked again at the weekend when the selectors opted to bring in Matt Kohnemann from Queensland to replace Mitch Swepson who had flown home for the birth of his first child.
Watch Australia’s tour of India. Every Test and ODI is live and ad-free while playing on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now>
Kuhnemann entered contention for the second Test starting Friday with selectors keen to offer the left-arm option after Ravindra Jadeja starred in India’s first innings victory.
The uncapped spinner was just as stunned as everyone else when he received the call-up and the cynic must have shot Zampa who bowled beautifully in the third day of the Shield match against Tasmania at the SCG.
The 30-year-old took 3-41 to help the visitors out for 236 after the losing Blues reached 8/417 in their first dig before declaring thanks for another fine century from Daniel Hughes.
Zampa has long been considered a white-ball specialist but made his frustrations clear last month when he missed out on selection when initially told he was doing everything right to make his Test debut.
Having starred in Australia on the international stage for a long time, Zampa returned to the NSW side for the first time in years in late 2022 in a bid to impress the tour selectors.
Instead, he remains in Sydney where he will have the chance to knock down the Blues for victory on Tuesday after they opted not to force a follow-on.
“I was close. I was told by George Bailey and Andrew MacDonald that it was one of the hardest (decisions) they had to make for the tour. I’m so disappointed, I wish I was in it,” he said last month.
“I thought the way I go about international cricket in particular this will be my chance.
“That was the message I got six weeks ago, and this could be a very good opportunity to be in. Now I’m not, I’m so upset about it.
“I was really excited to be on this tour. I thought I’d give him a crack and the letters were my style of bowling might have been useful there.
“I don’t know what’s next for me. It’s been two and a half years until the next tour of the Indian subcontinent.”
