World Cup 2023, Match 36 | Impact Performer - How did Adam Zampa Outwit England batters?
Adam Zampa has been a match winner for Australia in World Cup 2023 (Source: AP Photos)
Australia delivered a decisive blow to England's World Cup campaign, securing a 33-run victory that effectively knocked England out of the tournament. With this win, Australia now boasts a strong record of five victories in seven games and is just one win away from confirming their spot in the semifinals. In stark contrast, England's World Cup journey has been marred by struggles, with only one win in seven matches and a string of six defeats.
Australia set the tone by posting a competitive total of 286 runs, thanks in part to Marnus Labuschagne's impressive 71 runs and a crucial late contribution of 29 runs by Adam Zampa. In response, England's innings got off to a shaky start with Jonny Bairstow dismissed on the very first ball.
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A partnership between Dawid Malan and Ben Stokes offered hope, accumulating 84 runs before Malan's dismissal after reaching 50. Stokes, who contributed 64 runs, also fell, and England ultimately fell short by 33 runs. Adam Zampa emerged as the star bowler, claiming three crucial wickets. The win keeps Australia in contention for a spot in the World Cup semifinals, while England faces a disappointing exit from the tournament.
England's World Cup Dreams Shattered by Australia's Dominance
Zampa has changed his bowling style, delivering the ball straighter, faster, and flatter. He's now extremely confident about where he'll place the ball. These were challenging conditions for a leg-spinner. When Zampa began his spell in the 12th over, there were indications of dew, and he mostly found himself bowling to left-handed batsmen, including Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes, and Moeen Ali. In fact, 45 out of the 60 balls he bowled were directed at left-handers.
Due to this, Zampa relied heavily on his googlies and rarely deviated from a good length or a straight line, with a focus on hitting the top of the stumps. It was a straightforward strategy, but England's batsmen struggled to disrupt it. They not only failed to score boundaries off him during his 10-over spell but couldn't even manage to take a couple of runs.
Jos Buttler was the first to attempt hitting him off his length by charging down the pitch and aiming for a big shot over long-off. However, it was Zampa who emerged victorious, celebrating loudly as Cameron Green took an easy catch. Zampa maintained such consistency with his stock ball that any deviation from it seemed to result in a wicket.
The delivery that dismissed Ben Stokes might have been one of his less effective ones that evening, as it slid down the leg side and was comfortably swept to short fine leg. He also tossed up a fuller one to Moeen Ali, who slog-swept it to deep midwicket. The ball to Moeen was Zampa's ultimate reward, a culmination of the pressure he had built throughout his spell. This delivery was significantly slower at 49.7mph compared to the rest of his spell and had enough overspin to induce a top-edge.
Conclusion
Zampa concluded his spell with remarkable figures of 3 for 21, marking the most economical performance in his ODI career, and by a significant margin. Australia's strategic choice to include only one primary spinner in their World Cup squad was a well-calculated risk. With a total of 19 wickets taken across seven matches, it's evident that the selectors made a winning decision.
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