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ICC CRICKET WORLD CUP

June 1, 2019

Adam Zampa

Bristol, Gloucestershire, UK

Australia - 209-3, Afghanistan - 207

Q. Adam, tough crowd today to play in front of. Lots of boos for you guys. Every run Afghanistan scored, a huge cheer. What is it like playing inside of that atmosphere?
ADAM ZAMPA: We have spoken a bit how we are going to handle that situation. Obviously, we copped it in the warm-up game against England, too. But I think we are expecting it. And to be fair, I think everyone's handling it really well.

Q. Does the crowd reaction like that play into the hands of players like Warner and Smith? They are great players. They will react positively to this, aren't they?
ADAM ZAMPA: I think the way they are handing themselves has been great. Same for all of us. Personally, I don't really hear the crowd to be honest. So I think if you can block it out, you don't really hear it. As I say, the guys are handling themselves really well.

Q. Adam, how do you see your role alongside the likes of Marcus Stoinis and Nathan Coulter-Nile in the middle overs after Starc and Cummins have finished? And also based on how you went today as the tournament progresses, considering it is unlikely you and Nathan Lyon will play together too often?
ADAM ZAMPA: Not sure about that. I think me and Nathan have formed a really good partnership, so I think we will feature together. I don't know how much, but I think we will.

And I'm also willing to bowl at any time in the game too so, yeah, predominantly through the middle, a big wicket-taking option for us is wrist-spin. So it is important to take wickets through the middle.

You saw today they got a role and someone like Stoiny took two wickets in an over. That was a big game changer for us. So reading the game situation. Depends who you are bowling to, obviously. Whatever is in front of me, pretty much.

Q. So you were hit for 22 runs in one over by Zadran and his partner.
ADAM ZAMPA: (Smiling) Thanks for reminding me.

Q. What do you tell yourself after that and how do you get back to taking wickets for the next overs?
ADAM ZAMPA: It is tough sometimes. Particularly as a wrist-spinner, you know sometimes that is going to happen. The ball didn't come out as well as I would have liked to today to be honest with you, but that is going to happen.

I already had two wickets under my belt and I knew I had a huge role to play coming up. We were getting towards bowling to the tail, especially after Stoiny got those two big wickets.

I always forget about that stuff really quickly and try and keep it simple. I probably over-complicated that over a bit and I knew if I had the opportunity again, I would really simplify it.

I bowled one more over, I got one more wicket, but I just try and let that go really quickly otherwise if you let it dwell on you too much as a wrist-spinner, the next three overs of your spell are the dangerous ones.

Q. It is probably fair to say this is the biggest month of your career so far. And with that in mind, how important was it to carry that confidence from what you did in the UAE into today and get a result today and take it into the rest of the tournament?
ADAM ZAMPA: Yes, the way the ball has been coming out lately, I'm really happy with. The way I have been preparing for this tour, I'm happy with.

So to get out there today -- as I said, the ball didn't come out as nicely as I would have liked it to, but to make a contribution. And that's one of those things; I don't think we probably didn't play as well as we would have liked through those middle overs bowling-wise, but to get out of it at the other end and take wickets, it's a confidence booster.

Q. You said that Warner and Smith copped it against England. They copped it again today. Do you and the team consider that good-natured pantomime villain stuff, or is it something more sinister for you and the players? Do you think it is going to carry on the whole tournament?
ADAM ZAMPA: Honestly, we spoke about it during our camp in Brisbane about how we are going to react to it and how we are going to handle it and we haven't spoken about it since. I think we expected what we were going to cop and I think all of us, to our credit, are just getting on with the job.

You heard the boos today when Smithy went out there. Call it what you want, disrespectful, or just a part of the game. Either way, I think the way that us as players are handling it has been great.

If you let it get to you, I suppose that is when something will happen. I think, yeah, we are handling it really well at the moment.

Q. Obviously, you bowl leg-spin, but everyone else was bowling short today. Was that a clear plan or was that something when you got out there it seemed to be working so you went with it?
ADAM ZAMPA: A bit of pace in the wicket I think and with our taller guys playing Afghanistan, who predominantly play in the subcontinent and face a lot of spin. So that was our game plan to get it up there.

We wanted to play an aggressive style of cricket throughout this whole tournament so to have those three big quicks bowling the way they did helps me as well.

Q. There was a period there where the Afghanistan batsmen were pulling off some flukey shots. Was it frustrating? What was your mindset at that point?
ADAM ZAMPA: No, not so much frustrating. I think credit to Afghanistan. They came out today and played some fearless cricket. They could have been in their shell, but everyone has been talking about them so much lately about how much they have improved and, to be fair, they have.

And today they come out and played fearless cricket. They lost wickets at times when they wouldn't have wanted to, but the middle order came out and kept swinging and playing shots.

So if they keep playing cricket like that, particularly with their bowling attack they have got, they will make some upsets this World Cup.

Q. After playing Afghanistan today, what is your opinion how far can they go in this tournament?
ADAM ZAMPA: As I just mentioned to you, I think they are going to cause some upsets. The wicket today probably didn't suit them as much as it might later down the track. The ball skidded on a bit.

You saw with Mujeeb, he is probably at his best when the wicket is holding up and there is a bit of spin there and today it skidded on, particularly with the new ball.

I think as I said, with the aggressive mindset with the bat, if they can get anywhere around the 250, 260, 270, with their bowling attack later down the track in the World Cup they definitely will cause some upsets.

Q. You were chasing only 207 for 8 and you had a brilliant start. But you couldn't accelerate to get a better run rate. Was that because of Afghan bowling, or you didn't think about run rate for later on in the tournament?
ADAM ZAMPA: Run rate wasn't spoken about, no. As I have already said, the quality of the spinners that Afghanistan have it wasn't going to be easy-going, particularly through the middle.

We got off to a great start. Even the medium pacer, is it Hassan? He bowled beautifully, he bowled a good pace. So they didn't make it easy for us.

Yeah, mate, obviously easier when you are only chasing 205, but it wasn't easy-going the whole way that's for sure.

Q. Speaking on a personal level, I have heard that you have gone on a vegan diet for some time now. How has that been helpful for you on the field as a player?
ADAM ZAMPA: Has vegan been helpful for me on the field? Yes, it has, definitely. It's also helpful for the environment and for the animals, too. So, from a non-selfish point of view, it's good for everyone, but on the field I'm definitely lighter for it, that's for sure (laughing).

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