Australian leg-spinner Adam Zampa will not play New South Wales’ One-Day Cup final against the Tasmania in Hobart after making the “very unselfish” decision to step aside for his heir apparent.
Zampa unexpectedly became available for the tournament finale at Bellerive Oval — which was delayed two weeks due to a scheduling conflict — following Australia’s premature exit from the T20 World Cup, along with Blues fast bowlers Sean Abbott and Ben Dwarshuis, who were also part of Australia’s touring party for the ICC event in the subcontinent.
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However, the 33-year-old World Cup champion, Australia’s greatest white-ball spinner since Shane Warne, was not named in New South Wales’ 13-player squad for the One-Day Cup final, with fellow leg-spinner Tanveer Sangha retaining his spot.
Zampa and Sangha have previously featured in the same Blues starting XI, including last September’s one-day contest against the Tigers in Sydney, but two leg-spinners weren’t need for in the upcoming final considering the pace-friendly conditions.
Zampa, who lives in Byron Bay and rarely trains with the Blues, was available and eager to play Wednesday’s final, but didn’t want his call-up to come at the expense of Sangha. After consulting Cricket NSW Chief Performance Officer Greg Mail, Zampa made the decision to step aside to accommodate Sangha’s selection.
“As (Zampa) always is when he is available for us, he’s very cognisant on the impact on Tanveer,” Mail told cricket.com.au.
“He was keen to play but was pretty clear he didn’t want it to be at Tanveer’s expense. That’s a position we were aligned with as well.
“In domestic cricket we have a dual mandate of trying to develop players for Australia, and winning. With Tanveer being the leading wicket-taker coming into the final, we all thought the right thing to do was to make sure he played to continue to try to develop him to be the next long-term spinner for Australia.
“With the final being at Bellerive Oval under lights, we thought it wasn’t a two leg-spinner game – we’ve previously played them both together – so we agreed ‘Zamps’ wouldn’t play.
“I said to him that I think he’s taken a very unselfish approach to this, and one that should be commended.”
Sangha, considered to be Zampa’s long-term successor in Australia’s white-ball teams, is the leading wicket-taker of this season’s One-Day Cup with 18 scalps at 18.05. The 24-year-old has played 11 matches for Australia since making his national debut in 2023.
In December 2024, Cricket NSW came under heavy scrutiny after Zampa was selected for a Sheffield Shield match at Sangha’s expense, a decision that drew the ire of state selector Stuart Clark and former Australian captain Mark Taylor.
Elsewhere, New South Wales captain Jack Edwards will miss the One-Day Cup final due to a hamstring injury, with veteran batter Kurtis Patterson set to lead the Blues in his absence. Australian superstars Steve Smith, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc were not considered for selection.
The One-Day Cup final looms as the final opportunity for coach Greg Shipperd to win a trophy before the conclusion of his tenure as Blues coach.
In January, Cricket NSW confirmed the 69-year-old would wrap up his stint as NSW and Sydney Sixers coach at the end of the season despite being contracted through to 2026/27.
Following last week’s loss to South Australia in Adelaide, New South Wales can’t qualify for the Sheffield Shield final, leaving the One-Day Cup as the team’s only chance at winning silverware this season.
“We just want to send him off on a high,” wicketkeeper Josh Philippe said of Shipperd, speaking to ESPNcricinfo.
“So it’s great to make this one-day final. He was disappointed at the decision (over his jobs), but he loves cricket, he loves the group and he wants to win titles so we’re trying to do that as best as we can for him.”
According to a News Corp report, former Australian wicketkeeper Brad Haddin is the leading candidate to take over the Blues coaching next season.
The One-Day Cup final between Tasmania and New South Wales gets underway at Bellerive Oval on Wednesday at 2:05pm AEDT. The entire match will be shown live and ad-break free on Foxtel and streaming platform Kayo Sports.
NSW squad
Kurtis Patterson (c), Sean Abbott, Joel Davies, Ben Dwarshuis, Matthew Gilkes, Chris Green, Ryan Hadley, Liam Hatcher, Sam Konstas, Josh Philippe, William Salzmann, Lachlan Shaw, Tanveer Sangha
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