‘We were told he had to play’: Aussie selectors under fire as Clark calls out spin doctors over Zampa’s Shield recall

Blues selector Stuart Clark has shot down claims from Cricket Australia that there was no directive from the national panel to pick white-ball specialist Adam Zampa for Sheffield Shield duty ahead of rising star Tanveer Sangha.

Cricket Australia high-performance manager Ben Oliver claimed on Thursday that NSW chose the team to face Tasmania and there had been no pressure from above to give Zampa a rare run in first-class cricket to see if he could be an option for the tour to Sri Lanka at the end of the summer.

Clark said on ABC Radio on Saturday that the Blues had indeed been told that Zampa must play even though he does not play grade cricket in Sydney and Sangha had to make way.

Zampa ramped up his push for selection in Australia’s tour of Sri Lanka, taking four wickets in NSW’s Shield loss to Tasmania.

“The problem I have with it, when it came to Adam Zampa, we didn’t have a discussion because there was no need to. We were told he had to play,” said Clark.

“Quite frankly, I don’t understand what the comment of Cricket Australia is because we didn’t need to have a robust debate about his selection. His selection was a foregone conclusion that he was in the team.”

The former Test fast bowler said Zampa, who has played just six first-class matches in the past seven years, should have been made to earn his spot with the state squad.

“If he wanted to be part of the four-day set-up, then he probably needs to be around and come to training and play a bit of grade cricket and things like that,” Clark said.

“He’s a quality bowler and there’s no reason he couldn’t be successful.”

Oliver said on Thursday that “the national selection panels 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”.

CA then issued a statement on Saturday to say “that process was consistent with this most recent round of Shield cricket”.

Former Test captain Mark Taylor has also lashed out at CA over the Zampa interference by saying “this selection is a very bad one” and “obviously he doesn’t really want to play first-class cricket”.

Before Clark had revealed the drama behind the scenes, Zampa said he thought he was now a better red-ball bowler now than at any point in his career.

White-ball commitments have often made Zampa unavailable for first-class matches, as is the case with Glenn Maxwell in Victoria.

“It’s something I’d like to do and challenge myself at. If I got to end my career and it didn’t pan out that way then I’d be okay with it,” Zampa said. 

“I might look back one day and feel like maybe I didn’t give it a 100 per cent crack. 

“I feel like playing these games and putting my hand up for the Sri Lanka tour and being keen for that is fine.

“It’s important if I am on that tour that I have a bit of mileage in my legs and it’s not a huge shock to the system because Sunday was.”

It is unclear whether Zampa will be picked to play in the Blues’ next game, another match at the SCG against Western Australia early next month.

The 32-year-old’s belief he has not given himself a “100 per cent crack” at selection stems from the fact the majority of his red-ball cricket came early in his career.

His overall first-class record is 115 wickets at an average of 46.56, compared to 10 scalps at 28.7 in his three games this decade.

“I was eager to play a lot of first-class cricket when I was young, but I probably wasn’t good enough or as confident as I am now,” Zampa said. 

“I bowled a lot more bad balls than I do know. I wasn’t confident with my own reading of the game where as now I feel like I can read guys a lot better and have less mental fog.

“It’s being able to have a bit more resilience on day-one wickets when you’re trying to hold up an end.”

Zampa is also aware his Shield record is potentially irrelevant for selection, given the difference in wickets between Australia and the subcontinent.

For him it is more about miles in the legs.

But he does believe he can add value in Sri Lanka, if Australia opt for the variety of leg spin alongside the off spin of Nathan Lyon and potential left-arm finger spin of Matt Kuhnemann.

“If I do play over there it’s potentially as a third spinner, maybe one quick and you play one of each (type of spin),” Zampa said. 

“I think you’ll have a (left-arm) finger spinner turning it away from the bat because that tends to have more success in the subcontinent.”

with AAP