Veteran spinner Adam Zampa says the conditions Australia faced in Pakistan for the T20 World Cup warm-up match would have been “alien” for the younger guys in the squad and that batting will be much easier when they eventually get to India.
Australia lost the first of three matches to Pakistan by 22 runs after they were restricted to 8-146 in the chase at Lahore overnight.
Watch AUS Tour of Pakistan: Watch every match LIVE & EXCLUSIVE on FOX CRICKET, available on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.
Xavier Bartlett snared a wicket with the first ball of the contest before Zampa starred with figures of 4-24 to put the visitors in a good position.
But an ugly run out involving Cameron Green (36) and Matt Renshaw (15), with the latter dismissed, stalled Australia’s momentum in the middle overs before the home side’s spinners took control of the contest.
It was a tough deck for even the experienced players to deal with, let alone Australia’s three T20 international debutants, but that will change at the World Cup where captain Mitch Marsh and other stars will return.
SPIN TO WIN
Australia lost six of its eight wickets to spin in the opening T20, and Zampa acknowledged that the turning ball will play a crucial role in the first phase of the World Cup.
While batting will become much easier in India later in the tournament, the Aussies start their campaign in Sri Lanka where they’ll face Ireland and Zimbabwe in Colombo, as well as Sri Lanka and Oman in Kandy in Group B next month.
“The first stage of the tournament – particularly in Sri Lanka – I think the spinners will play a huge role,” Zampa said.
“I think there are some opponents in those groups who haven’t been exposed to world-class spin bowling so I think the conditions will play a huge role.
“It’ll change in India. My experience (over there) is that it’s not like playing here tonight or in Sri Lanka. It’s totally different, there are good batting wickets and you’ve seen in the latest series between New Zealand and India that they’re higher scoring than tonight or what you see in Sri Lanka.”
Ultimately, it was a batting performance that will only heighten calls for Steve Smith, a premier player of spin, to be parachuted into the squad — having been omitted before delivering a rousing run of BBL form for Sydney Sixers.
SKIPPERS WEIGH IN, DEBUTANT SHINES
Pakistan skipper Salman Agha, who hit four sixes and a four in his 27-ball 39, praised a team effort.
“It was a great game with complete team effort,” said Agha. “We started well with the bat but couldn’t finish the way we wanted.
“It became challenging after the first 10 overs as the ball stopped coming onto the bat, but I think we were outstanding with the ball.”
Head, standing in for regular skipper Marsh as he rested, showed disappointment over his team’s batting.
“It was disappointing, but that’s how batting goes sometimes,” said Head, who himself hit 23 off 13 balls atop the order. “We felt like we dragged it back well after the first 10 overs but as the ball got softer, it became harder to score.”
A bright spot for Australia: debutant paceman Mahli Beardman finished with 2-33 as Pakistan managed just 31 in the last five overs. The young Perth Scorchers star was entrusted with the final over and was on a hat-trick, having dismissed Shadab Khan and Shaheen Shah Afridi with the third and fourth balls respectively — only to overstep with the hatty delivery.
HELLO BABAR
Babar Azam was a major disappointment in the BBL for the Sydney Sixers where he scored 202 runs at a strike rate of roughly 103 before he returned home during the finals campaign.
The veteran batter has dominated on the international stage and was described as “the premier batter of Pakistan” by one local reporter who asked Zampa what it was like to remove Azam for 24 off 20 deliveries.
“He’s been a very good player for a long time,” Zampa said.
“But it’s not the first time I’ve got him, and hopefully it’s not the last. It’s always nice to get big wickets, and it’s what I’m in the team for.”
The last two matches are on Saturday and Sunday, also in Lahore.
Discussion about this post