State selector Stuart Clark claimed that they had to choose the legspinner under the board’s directives, but Cricket Australia (CA) has maintained that it did not instruct New South Wales (NSW) to select Adam Zampa for the previous round of Sheffield Shield matches.
Zampa partnered with Chris Green, who chose to go freelance earlier this season instead of having a NSW contract, which left the talented 23-year-old legspinner Tanveer Sangha out of the lineup for the match against Tasmania at the SCG. Because he resides in Byron Bay, Zampa does not train with NSW in between Australia obligations.
Over two innings and 40.2 overs, he took 4 for 140. Although Zampa’s participation in the last round of Shield games prior to the BBL versus Western Australia is still up in the air, he expressed his desire to return following the Tasmania match.
Ben Oliver, CA’s chief of high performance, stated last week that the states have complete control over domestic selection decisions.
“The national selection panel are in regular contact with each state association, but ultimately, the selection for each Sheffield Shield match or domestic matches is very much the realm of the state association,” Oliver stated.
“To be honest, I don’t understand Cricket Australia’s response since it was obvious that he was in the team and we didn’t need to have a heated discussion about it. I have no idea where this statement originated.
“I’m going to ask [NSW chief executive] Lee Germon… to clear this up by writing to Cricket Australia perhaps and put my board member’s hat on and say we don’t understand this,” Clark said. They are illogical. I’m very certain since I have communications stating that Adam Zampa must be on the team and that there is no need in debating his selection. However, I’m not sure if we as selectors have it incorrect or if we misunderstood.
Brad Haddin, a former wicketkeeper for Australia and NSW, harshly criticized the choice. “I love Adam Zampa. But he shouldn’t be playing this Shield game, in my opinion. He is not a member of the NSW system and does not attend training. He told the Willow Talk Podcast, “I just think it sends a really bad message to our younger players in the squad.”
What kind of message does that convey to Tanveer Sangha? Chris Green is also performing. At the beginning of the season, Chris Green rescinded his contract, saying, “No, I want to go over and play a tournament wherever.”
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