Adam Zampa is set to fly nearly 34,000 kilometres back and forth to England just for The Hundred final, after his Surrey return was cancelled by Cricket Australia.
The leg-spinner was signed for Surrey to play four league matches in the Vitality Blast this season. He picked up 3-14 in his first game against Essex at The Oval. Zampa ended up scalping six more wickets in his next three games, ending with nine wickets at an average of 13.22 in the four Blast matches, before he had to depart for international commitments against the West Indies and South Africa.
Zampa was due to rejoin Surrey for the knockout stages, but the leg-spinner will miss their quarter-final against Northamptonshire after being called away for Cricket Australia commitments at the last moment. The county confirmed the development and expressed their disappointment at the same time: “Disappointingly, Adam Zampa is unavailable as he’s required for Cricket Australia commitments which we weren’t made aware of when we signed him.”
Australia’s next international game is more than a month away, a T20I on October 1, against New Zealand. Surrey’s quarter-final is on September 3, with the Finals Day on September 13.
Surrey will also be without Mitchell Santner, who will undergo abdominal surgery, and the injured Nathan Smith for the knockouts.
Adam Zampa to play in The Hundred final
While Zampa will not be available for the remainder of the Blast games, he has been signed by the Oval Invincibles for the final of The Hundred on August 31 as Rashid Khan’s replacement. Rashid is away on international duty, and the Invincibles’ head coach, Tom Moody, was eager to play Zampa immediately.
It means that the 33-year-old will be flying nearly 17,000 kilometres (10,500 miles) one way for a single match in which he can bowl a maximum of 20 balls. The quickest flight from Australia to London today (August 29) is 21 hours 5 minutes, when viewed on Skyscanner.
The move also raises questions on sustainability after the ECB launched its Environmental Sustainability Plan for Cricket (ESP), which sets out a commitment to halve the game’s emissions by 2030. The plan emphasises the need to reduce the sport’s carbon footprint, from eliminating single-use plastics at internationals to funding solar projects at grassroots clubs. By becoming the first cricket governing body to sign up to the UN’s Sport for Climate Action framework, the ECB has pledged to lead the game towards a more sustainable future.
There has been frustration from counties over overseas player availability in the past. Notably, last season, Nathan Lyon's playing time with Lancashire was reduced following advice from Cricket Australia on his workload.
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