New Delhi: Adam Zampa is poised to earn his 100th ODI cap against England at Trent Bridge on Thursday and ahead of his landmark appearance he said the feeling of playing his country still makes him more motivated that turning out for any T20 franchises.
Zampa said this at a time when more and more cricketers are opting to play for franchise on lucrative deals across the globe. But the Australian still remains committed to playing for the country despite declining interest in and around him.
“There’s obviously those other opportunities in terms of franchise cricket and that’s good,” the leg spinner said, as quoted by Reuters.
“There’s opportunities to go and improve yourself at different franchise levels, even if they are going on at the same time which seems to be the case at the moment.
“But it feels like playing for your country is still the priority.”
Australia’s go-to bowler
With the advent and proliferation of T20s, ODIs have taken a back seat where Zampa has taken 169 wickets to be the second highest wicket-taker among Australian spinners, only behind only the late legend Shane Warne who claimed 291 from 193 matches.
The 32-year-old has emerged as a leading bowler for Australia in white-ball cricket, finishing as their leading wicket-taker at the 2023 ODI World Cup and the T20 World Cup title-winning campaign in 2021.
“I … don’t know what it’s going to look like in the next few years, particularly with this format, but I feel like ODI cricket’s still a really good format.
“I still enjoy playing it and think a lot of young guys coming through still see it as a good opportunity to play for your country,” Zampa said.
The right armer helped Oval Invincibles win The Hundred, England’s franchise league for the second year on the trot recently.
“It was great, I loved playing it, and winning at the end is a bonus,” he said.
“But it hits different when you play for your country, when you win World Cups. Still got that drive to win many more.”
Adam Zampa will play in his 100th ODI for Australia, against England on Thursday and has gradually become one of their top bowlers in white-ball cricket Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
