Adam Zampa’s 34,000-km round trip solely to play in the 2025 men’s Hundred final is not the first instance of an Australian leg-spinner undertaking such an extensive journey for a single match.
Zampa was scheduled to play for Surrey in the T20 Blast quarter-finals, beginning on September 3. He had previously played four league matches for the county earlier in the season. However, his return was cancelled due to commitments with Cricket Australia, as confirmed by the club.
This means Zampa will now travel to England solely to play in the Men’s Hundred final for the Oval Invincibles on August 31 as a replacement for Rashid Khan, who is on international duty. A round trip of about 34,000 km for Zampa to bowl a maximum of 20 balls has raised questions about sustainability, particularly in light of the ECB’s Environmental Sustainability Plan for Cricket (ESP).
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When Cameron Boyce had a 33,000 km-round trip for just one over
Zampa, though, is not even the first Australian wrist-spinner to travel a great distance to play just one match. Back in 2015, Queensland-born leg-spinner Cameron Boyce travelled to Cardiff to play a one-off T20I against England on August 31, following that year’s Ashes.
On August 12 that year, he picked up 3-48 against South Africa in a 50-over 'A' tri-series match in Chennai before missing the final against hosts India two days later.
His round trip, going from Queensland to Chennai to Cardiff, and then all the way back home, clocked in at nearly 33,000 km – all for Boyce to bowl one over in a losing cause. Brought on to bowl the 14th over of the innings, he was hammered for 6, 4, and 6 off three consecutive balls by Moeen Ali, conceding 19 runs. Australia, chasing 183, lost the match by five runs.
Boyce's comeback to the Australian team after nearly nine months followed a stellar Big Bash League campaign with the Hobart Hurricanes, where he emerged as the most successful spinner of the season by taking 10 wickets.
That was Boyce’s fifth T20I match. He played two more, with his last appearance coming against India in 2016. His T20I career records stand at eight wickets, with an average of 19 and an economy rate of 6.60. His most recent outing was in January in the 2024-2025 BBL, where he picked up 2-23 for Adelaide Strikers against his former team, Hobart Hurricanes.
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