My father encouraged me to bowl leg-spin: Adam Zampa

Adam Zampa has seen a rapid rise in his career chart. He is currently one of the leading spinners in Australia. The 24-year-old leg-spinner, who currently playing his first IPL season with Rising Pune Supergiants, has revealed that he would have never taken spin bowling if his father had not advised him to do so.

Speaking to Cricket.com.au, Zampa recalled the day when he first bowled leg spin while playing with his father.

“I was 14 or 15 playing country cricket on the South Coast of NSW and then just one day playing with the seniors my dad, who was the captain, just threw me the ball. I bowled some leggies and got a couple of wickets,” Zampa recalled in his Mumbai hotel with a grin.

However, leg spin did not attract his interest initially. Zampa focused more on batting and bowling medium pacers during his formative years. But, his father advised him to take up spin bowling as there were already many fast and medium pace bowlers around.

“Dad just said to me there are too many fast or medium pace bowlers and too many batters and I’d were going to be too small to be a fast bowler. So I started bowling leg-spin.”

Zampa worked his way through the New South Wales youth ranks and continued to progress. He slowly developed his relationship with his coach, and long-time mentor, Trent Woodhill, and current Australia skipper Steve Smith encouraged him to strive for excellence.

The leg spinner’s action has a striking resemblance to Australian great Shane Warne. But he says that he modeled his cricket around the Smith, who made a smooth transition from a leg spinner to a top order batsman.

“I was more a batsman who bowled a bit of leg-spin. I went to the Sydney Cricket Ground for a camp when I was 16 and Smithy was always there practising at the time. I modelled my cricket around him at the time.”

“That’s where I developed the relationship with Woodhill and tried to make the under-17s team as a spinner.”

Zampa comes across as a big-hearted cricket who is apt in handling pressure situations. During his growing years, it was almost like mandatory for all upcoming leg spinners to have big turning stock ball.  However, Zampa wasn’t a big spinner of the ball. His coach Woodhill recalled how Zampa was told as an upcoming leg-spinner he must develop that big turning leg break if he was to succeed.

“He was told he needed to get more spin on the ball, he needed to have more revs on the ball. People had told him that he wouldn’t make it unless he learns how to spin the ball big,” Woodhill, currently, batting and fielding coach with Royal Challengers Bangalore, said.

But, his inability to rip the ball like Shane Warne did not overshadow the strong points in his bowling. His bowling mechanics and ability to deliver under pressure  encouraged Woodhill to pick Zampa over a fellow leg-spinner, who did have a sharp turning leg-break, in the NSW Under-19s team.

“I didn’t pick him in the under-17s because there was another spinner that had a massive turning leg break and he was taking wickets for fun.

“But under pressure he couldn’t hold up the way Adam could, so when I became the under-19s coach, I picked Adam at the age of 17.

“The way he delivered under pressure by knocking over batsmen like Chris Lynn showed his ability to handle pressure on big stage.”

Zampa’s greatest asset is his simplicity and ability to work to his strengths rather than focusing too much on his weakness.  It is a theory that was instilled into him by Woodhill and one that he has followed ever since.

“I personally would love to have a big turning leg-break but I don’t have that in my armoury but I have other strengths that I should back myself with,” Zampa said.

“Yes, I would love to develop it but think practically and I don’t have strong and long fingers or powerful forearms, so I have to work with what I have.”