MELBOURNE, Sept 18 (Askume) – A growing number of cricketers are turning their back on international duty to focus on lucrative franchise deals around the world but Adam Zampa is hell-bent on winning more games for Australia.
The spinner will play his 100th ODI against England at Trent Bridge on Thursday. The series has been criticised by experts for lack of context and no risk.
Waning interest in the 50-over format means Zampa’s career will fall well short of Ricky Ponting’s Australian record of 374 ODIs.
But it’s not due to the 32-year-old’s lack of experimentation, as he loves wearing the green and gold Australia jersey and still sees a future in the format.
“There are other opportunities in franchise cricket and that’s a good thing,” Zampa told reporters.
“We have an opportunity to improve ourselves by entering different franchise levels, even if they work together, as is currently the case.
“But it still feels like playing for my country is the priority.
“I don’t know what it will look like in the next few years, especially in this format, but I think one-day cricket is still a very good format.”
“I still enjoy playing the game and think many young players still see it as a great opportunity to play for their country.”
With 169 wickets, Zampa is the second-highest wicket-taker among Australian spin bowlers in ODIs after the great Shane Warne, who took 291a wickets in 193 matches.
He has undoubtedly become Australia’s most important player in white-ball cricket, having been the team’s leading wicket-taker in last year’s 50-over World Cup in India and hoping to win the T20 World Cup in 2021. Taking the most wickets.
He helped the Oval Invincibles win the England and Wales Franchise League Hundred for the second consecutive year, in preparation for the ODI series against England.
“It’s great, I love playing it and winning at the end is a bonus,” he said.
“But when you play for your country, when you win the World Cup, it’s a different experience. You still want to win more.”
