Adam Zampa believes success during the three-match ODI series played in India this January was important to his self-confidence, as the Australian leg-spinner continues to make swift progress at the highest level.
Zampa did really well against some of the finest players of spin bowling around, dismissing the mighty Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma twice among his five wickets, taken at an economy rate of 4.90, the second-best among bowlers from either side, which reflects the level of control he enjoyed on flat pitches.
Read Also: Adam Zampa bats for more spin-friendly Sheffield Shield pitches in Australia
"I take a lot of confidence from that," Cricbuzz quoted Zampa as saying. "A lot of white-ball spinners have gone to India and not had the success with playing a holding role and found the wickets really difficult to bowl on."
"My first tour there, I had a lot of luck, and I grew in confidence from having that luck and my last tour I think that was the best series I've ever had with the ball, to be honest," he added. "Just the experience, in particular, having played 80-90 internationals, you just rock up knowing what you need to do a little bit better."
"I do have more confidence than I did a couple of years ago. If I'm thrown into that situation, that experience I have now will hold me in good stead."
Zampa bowled a beautiful googly to dismiss Kane Williamson in Australia's last international before the COVID-19 pandemic firmed its grip, the video of which did the rounds all over the social media and earned him rich praise.
"The way I've bowled throughout this summer and the different roles that I've to play, particularly in the World Cup, I've learnt a lot, about my game, the disappointment of being dropped and try and work out a way to play a role in the team and make sure I'm picked in every game. South Africa was really good for me, playing a holding role almost but then coming back to Australia for that one game."
"New Zealand wanted to attack me in that game and to get a guy like Williamson out with a ball like that topped off what was a really good summer for me. Getting big wickets and bowling balls like that is something you only really dream of," he said.
Zampa can look back at stint with Essex last summer in the UK, away from all the scrutiny at the international level, as a career-transforming experience. That period gave him time and an ideal environment to work on all aspects of his bowling.
"I've been learning about trying to get in and out of overs, when I can attack and when I can defend," he said. "There's been a lot said, (over) a couple of years, Mark Waugh, for example, said I don't bowl my variations enough when he was a selector."
"There've been other messages saying that I don't turn my stock ball enough. So, work on that. I've got to find that mixture of having that really good stock ball, which I think I've improved a lot and also having those game situations where you can really attack and bowl your wrong-uns and sliders. It's not really something that I've worked on in particular. I've worked on my bowling action, which is so much different to what it was 3 years ago."
"I had a really good winter in England playing for Essex and worked on my run-up, speed of run-up and things like that. My variations have improved because of that. It's all about working out game situations," added the 28-year-old, who has played 55 ODIs and 30 T20Is for Australia so far.
(Inputs from Cricbuzz)
