Adam Zampa backs Australia’s bowling unit to deliver in Champions Trophy

LAHORE: Australia’s leg-spinner Adam Zampa pinned high hopes on the new-look bowling unit to come good in the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025.

Zampa, in a video statement released by Cricket Australia (CA), acknowledged the absence of their pace trio – Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood – as a ‘big loss’.

The 32-year-old, however, termed it a ‘great opportunity’ for the former champions’ inexperienced bowling unit, comprised of Sean Abbott, Ben Dwarshuis, Spencer Johnson, Nathan Ellis and Aaron Hardie.

“In most ICC events that we have played in the last almost decade, it has been a very similar bowling attack,” Zampa said.

“Something we missed having the guys was a big loss, we know that. However, it’s a great opportunity whereby if we do our roles and contribute, hopefully, that will be important throughout, and somewhere along the line, a match-winner pulls it off for us,” he added.

The 2009 champions will kick off their campaign against arch-rivals England at the Gaddafi Stadium here on Saturday, a match-up welcomed by Zampa.

“Nice to get them first up. It’s always nice to beat England, one of those teams that you get up a little bit more for,” Zampa was quoted as saying.

Adam Zampa then went on to laud the security arrangements in place for the participating teams of the Champions Trophy 2025 in Pakistan.

“Yeah, it’s heavily secured. You know, we landed into Lahore and basically we’re getting into heavily secure mini buses, and the whole city shuts down for us to get from point A to point B,” he explained.

Australia Champions Trophy squad:

Steve Smith (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardie, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Tanveer Sangha, Matthew Short, Adam Zampa