Adam Zampa picks South Africa, Australia to clash in Champions Trophy finals

Australia leg-spinner Adam Zampa has been warming the bench for the major part of the Indian Premier League this season. But that has not stopped the Aussie from preparing hard for the upcoming edition of the Champions Trophy. Australia are yet to prove their might in the Champions Trophy and Zampa believes this could be their best chance in the recent times.

In a recent conversation with cricket.com.au, Adam Zampa spoke at length about the various prospects of the tournament. When asked to pick a team who he feels would play the Australian side in the finals, the leggie answered with the Proteas team. He noted that of all the teams he has ever played against, the South Africa team has been the toughest to beat. Also, in the recent past, it has been the Proteas who have troubled them the most.

“If I was to say we’d meet anybody in the final it would be South Africa. From the teams I’ve played against so far in ODI cricket, they were definitely the toughest team to play against,” he quoted.

“The class of their batting and bowling, I feel like looking from the outside it seems very similar to the setup we’ve got and they’ve also got (fellow leg-spinner Imran) Tahir bowling well. They knocked us off top spot in the ODI rankings so they’re in some good nick,” Adam Zampa quoted further.

The South African team boasts of the big name player AB de Villiers. De Villiers needs no introduction in world cricket. He is proven match winner. Zampa had got the better of him in one of the fixtures in the IPL last year. Talking about AB, the leggie remarked that the player surely has the fear factor around him for all the bowlers who come up against him.

“He’s definitely got that fear factor about him when you’re bowling to him. I’ve had very little success against him but that’s only in a couple of games. He played in that tri-series against us in the Caribbean (last June) and he played OK but I think the South Africans have made it pretty clear they’re fired up for this Champions Trophy,” Zampa conceded.

Australia will play their first match of Champions Trophy 2017 on June 2 against New Zealand.