Never expected I'd play this much for Australia, says Zampa on 100 ODIs milestone

NEW DELHI: Australia’s upcoming ODI series opener against England at Trent Bridge on September 19 will also mark Adam Zampa’s 100th appearance in the 50-over format. On the verge of reaching this milestone, Zampa said he never anticipated playing these number of matches for his country in ODIs.

Zampa will become the 32nd Australia men’s player to play 100 ODIs. He becomes just the third specialist spinner to achieve the landmark for Australia after Shane Warne and Brad Hogg. Zampa’s wife Harriet, son Eugene and parents Darren and Alison will be in attendance at Trent Bridge to see the leg-spinner reach this landmark.

"I'm really proud to get to 100 ODIs, I never expected that I'd play this much for Australia. When you look at the amount of games that people play in ODI cricket these days, not that many get to 100, especially compared to guys in the past; in the 1990s and early 2000s there was definitely a lot more ODI cricket and no T20s. I'm getting close to 200 internationals altogether (191), so I never expected to play this much, that's for sure," said Zampa to cricket.com.au.

In 99 ODIs, Zampa has taken 169 wickets at an average of 28.05 and an economy rate of 5.47. Though Zampa has been a T20 World Cup and ODI World Cup winner for Australia in 2021 and 2023, respectively, he remarked the drive to win more World Cups is still burning brightly inside him, especially with the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup happening in India and Sri Lanka.

"The feeling of playing for your country and winning for your country beats playing franchise cricket and winning franchise cricket. I experienced The Hundred (for 2024 champions Oval Invincibles) and it was great. I loved playing it and winning at the end was a bonus. But it's different when you play for you country and when you win World Cups, and I've still got that drive to win many more," he concluded.