Cricket Australia and New South Wales have been embroiled in a war of words over the selection of an Australian Test hopeful.
Adam Zampa was surprisingly called into the New South Wales squad for their Sheffield Shield clash against Tasmania last week at the SCG.
The decision has ruffled some feathers among some in the cricket community, with Zampa, who posted figures of 4-140 during the match, being selected over Tanveer Sangha, the team’s regular player.
Zampa, one of Australia’s best players, had not played a first-class match for New South Wales since February 2023.
He appears to be taking steps to make his case for a place in Australia’s Test squad to face Sri Lanka next year.
While there is uncertainty over why Zampa was parachuted back into the New South Wales side, some, including Australian star Alyssa Healy, have questioned the decision.
“Maybe I can see why they’ve gone that route… but you’re taking the f*** a little bit (out of) the baggy blue,” Healy told Willow Talk.
Adam Zampa finds himself in the middle of a war of words between Cricket New South Wales and Cricket Australia.
The 32-year-old’s selection for New South Wales has raised some eyebrows in the Australian cricket world after he had not played for the state since 2023.
Former New South Wales and Australia captain Mark Taylor also criticized the decision, along with former Australian star Brad Haddin.
Both claimed the call sends a really poor message to younger stars across the state.
“I just think this selection is very bad… Obviously, he (Zampa) doesn’t really want to play first-class cricket,” Taylor said, speaking about the decision to snub Sangha for Zampa.
‘I don’t like the selection, I really don’t. I am disappointed with the selection because I think it sends the wrong message to young cricketers. Not just Tanveer, young cricketers can get eliminated, but I think that sends a bad message.
“State cricket should have the best player in the state and what they are saying is that he is a player who does not play in the state.”
Despite that, Cricket Australia high performance manager Ben Oliver claimed Australian bosses had not issued any directive to NSW to pick Zampa.
“The national selection panels are in regular contact with each state association but ultimately selection for each Sheffield Shield match or national matches is largely the responsibility of the state association,” Oliver said in a statement.
He added: “That process was consistent with this most recent round of Shield cricket.”
Some New South Wales chiefs have claimed Australia had ordered the state to field Zampa against Tasmania last week.
Stuart Clark claims that Cricket Australia told New South Wales that they “had to play” Zampa in the hope that Zampa would be able to travel for their tour of Sri Lanka next year.
Zampa is yet to make his Test debut for Australia, having rejoined New South Wales in 2020 after spending time with South Australia.
Despite Oliver’s comments on the matter, NSW Cricket Board member and selector Stuart Clark claimed they had been ordered to field Zampa.
“The problem I have with this is that when it came to Adam Zampa, we didn’t have a discussion because there was no need, we were told he had to play,” Clark told ABC Radio.
“Frankly, I don’t understand what Cricket Australia’s comment is because we didn’t need to have a robust debate about his selection. His selection was a foregone conclusion – he was in the team.”
And it looks like the situation could get even worse.
“I’m going to ask Cricket NSW’s Lee Germon to clarify this by writing to Cricket Australia maybe and put my board member hat on because we don’t understand this,” he said.
‘What we were told to do, and what appears in the press, is exactly the opposite. They don’t make sense.
‘Or have we, as selectors, made a mistake, have we misunderstood? But it’s pretty clear to me because I have messages saying that Adam Zampa must be in the team and there is no point in discussing his selection.’
Zampa posted figures of 4-140 during NSW’s 55-run loss to Tasmania last week.
Zampa returned to the team at the expense of regular New South Wales youngster Tanveer Sangha.
The Sydney Morning Herald claims that Cricket New South Wales’ head of cricket and Australia chief selector George Baily had held pre-match discussions about Zampa’s inclusion.
It is understood New South Wales had been told the cricketer is among the candidates to be selected for Australia’s tour to Sri Lanka.
Clark, meanwhile, added that Zampa was a quality bowler but needed to be more in the New South Wales team if he wanted to play red-ball cricket.
“If I wanted to be part of the four-day program then I would probably need to be present and come train and play a bit of cricket and things like that,” Clark said. “He’s a quality bowler and there’s no reason he can’t be successful.”