Adam Zampa Snubbed For Australia's Men's ODI Player Of The Year Award Despite 30-wicket Year

Adam Zampa was left empty-handed at the Australian Cricket Awards at Royal Randwick last night, adding insult to injury on cricket’s night of nights.

Leaving empty-handed has becoming increasingly rare for Zampa, who grabbed 30 wickets in 12 one-day internationals during the qualification phase. The Stars captain was generally expected to win Men’s ODI player of the year, but despite taking nearly twice as many wickets as the next-best ODI bowler, Mitchell Starc, he did not finish in the top three.

Adam Zampa “Very Flat” About Missing India Tour

It follows after Zampa was left out from Australia’s team for a four-Test tour of India, despite being informed he was “close” to selection, prompting him to ponder his future in the red-ball game.

“I’m very disappointed, I would have loved to be on it,” he said at the time.

“I thought with the way I’ve been going in international cricket in particular, this was going to be my opportunity. That was the messaging I got six weeks ago, now I’m not, I’m very flat about it.”

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Zampa is presently in the UAE, playing for the Dubai Capitals in the ILT20 league, where he has 6 wickets at 5.33.

Adam Zampa (Image Credits: Twitter)

Given his fondness for the subcontinent, Zampa’s success over the last year is even the more astonishing given that he only played three games there last year, all against Pakistan on notoriously unfriendly surfaces. While domestic recognition eluded Zampa, international laurels did not, with the 30-year-old chosen to the ICC’s ODI squad of the year and short-listed for male ODI player of the year.

The men’s ODI award, like those in the other forms, is decided by a 3-2-1 vote among players, umpires, and media. David Warner earned the same number of votes as Steve Smith, but because he received more allocations of three votes, he won the prize on a tie-break.

Michael Clarke Feels Adam Zampa May Find It Harder In Red Ball Cricket

Former Test captain Michael Clarke spoke about the rejection on his radio show, the Big Sports Breakfast, stating “Zamps has done very well in T20 cricket and white ball cricket.”

“I think (Mitch) Swepson is ahead of him but they’re very different bowlers,” he said.

“I don’t think you can put that line through him, you can’t put a line through anyone. He’s very accurate, but because he doesn’t spin the ball as much, in red ball cricket, he’d find it harder because the batter can defend until they get a bad ball. You never say never.”

Adam Zampa (Image Credit: Twitter)

Zampa will have nearly a month free between the end of the ILT20 in the UAE and the start of Australia’s white-ball tour of India on March 17.

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