By Daniel Brettig
Adam Zampa believes a full Big Bash League season as captain of the Melbourne Stars will give the national selectors a chance to consider whether he figures in Australia’s white ball captaincy plans.
And Zampa will train and bowl more than ever during the tournament in an effort to keep himself in calculations for Australia’s looming Test tour of India early next year, after performing creditably in a recent Sheffield Shield outing for New South Wales.
Team lifter: Adam Zampa celebrates after the Melbourne Stars’ win over the Sydney Thunder last season.Credit:Getty Images
Informed on Tuesday morning that he would replace Glenn Maxwell as captain while the allrounder recovers from a broken leg, Zampa has a clear idea of how he wants to captain the Stars, returning the club to its days led by an independent board – although also mentioning he would lean on Maxwell’s advice.
“As a new captain I’m looking forward to doing it my way,” Zampa told The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. “I love the franchise, love the club and got a little bit of experience of it last year, but it’s going to be really cool to try to get the best out of the environment, try to be the captain I always thought I possibly could be.
“I’ve always felt like the best captains are the ones that make me feel like a better player than I am when I walk out onto the park, and also being able to give a really quick and easy debrief on what I did well and how to get better.
“So, that’s going to be important – I also like the term ‘no fluff’, so I don’t like long meetings if they’re not really going anywhere, or you don’t need to be at the cricket ground or in a meeting room. I like conversations about getting better as a team or individuals.”
Speaking about the Stars, Zampa recalled being awestruck by the club’s earlier days when Stephen Fleming and Kevin Pietersen were senior figures, while the likes of Eddie McGuire and John Wylie sat in the boardroom.
“I also like to think I can concentrate on what has made me a good leader up until now, creating a fun environment, an environment where people feel like fear isn’t a factor,” he said. “The club has been really important to me for a long time, and hopefully [I] do it justice.
“A bit of that has been lost with COVID-19 and Victoria taking over – I don’t mean that in a bad way, but when someone is overseeing two clubs, you kind of lose the edge that you get when you’ve got the likes of Eddie McGuire around. But yeah, I hope to do the club justice and bring back a vibe like it was when I first joined.”
As for the prospect of India, Zampa has been thinking increasingly about Tests since he was on standby during the Sri Lanka tour in case of another injury during the series. Zampa’s white ball record against India has encouraged selectors to consider him.
”It’ll be well and truly in my mind,” he said. “It would be an exciting tour to be a part of, and a major reason why I played the Shield game because I still want that opportunity. So, it’s going to probably look a bit different this BBL in terms of how much I prepare and train because I need to keep those workloads up if I am going to tour.
“It was good to get through 35 overs, which I haven’t done in a long time, and I feel like I can play another game now, which was maybe a bit surprising because I’ve had a bit of a shoulder niggle for a long while. But it’s improved, and I’m feeling good.”
