Ever since Adam Zampa shot into the limelight, murmurs of similarity with Shane Warne and his blond hair began to surface. The 24-year old from New South Wales has now revealed his first tryst with the great man himself.
Speaking to cricket.com.au, Zampa recollected an experience which made a huge impact on his life. When the youngster was in his formative years, Warne shared an interesting idea on how to develop as a spinner.
Adam enthused, “(When I was a teenager) we had a little seminar and Warnie (Shane) came to the SCG to work with some spinners and that was his thing – The 'Hasselhoff Theory’. You might not be on top of the game or you may be on the back foot a bit. But, he just said to stick your chest out.”
The belief is formulated after popular Hollywood actor and singer David Hasselhoff. He was best known for portraying the role of Mitch Buchannon, a cocky life-guard on the hit American TV series ‘Baywatch’. Ironically, Warne was nicknamed ‘Hollywood’ for his showmanship skills and adding flamboyance to the art of leg-spin.
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Upon hearing the intriguing advice from the veteran, Zampa changed his attitude from a reticent teenager into a confident young man. He noted, “I don't know if it was a real personality trait of mine when I was younger. Growing up in the country (a small town called Shellharbour), you always feel like you're a step back from the guys in the city.”
Zampa added, "I probably made a conscious effort when I was about 17 or 18 – To make sure that even though I'm not the most talented at the moment, that I had a step up on the others. And I remember at a young age, Warnie's Hasselhoff theory; to stick your chest out.”
The wrist-spinner who also represents Rising Pune Supergiants in the IPL, explained, “If the ball got hit back at me, I'd always throw it back at the batsman and try and get one up on them somehow. So ever since then, it's just continued on. I feel a lot more relaxed than I used to be or than people perceive me to be. It's just something that's natural to me now.”
Though it would be extremely difficult to emulate a man with over 1000 international wickets across both Tests and ODIs, Zampa appears to be confident in charting his own path.
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