With Australia exiting the T20 World Cup early, and the final having been rescheduled due to a clash with the women’s series against India, Zampa was among the white-ball players available for both sides. He was keen to feature but when it became clear that conditions in Hobart would not warrant two legspinners he stepped aside.
“The starting position was Adam was available to play and keen to play,” Greg Mail, NSW’s chief performance officer, told ESPNcricinfo. “He and I had a conversation and he always is cognizant of the impact on Tanveer when he is available for us.
“He was quite clear that with Tanveer being the leading wicket-taker in the competition and also still developing his craft that he didn’t want his selection or availability to come at Tanveer’s expense. And that’s a position that we agreed with as well.
“So the question then became, is a Bellerive day-night fixture the right time to play two leggies? We’ve played them together in a few fixtures over the last couple of years. When we decided that that wasn’t the case, then Zamps has effectively stepped aside to make sure Tanveer could play.”
Speaking to reporters in Hobart later on Tuesday, NSW stand-in captain Kurtis Patterson said had the final been a day game both Zampa and Sangha may have featured.
“It was really selfless,” Patterson said of Zampa’s call. “There’s always a balance there between going chips in … and rewarding someone like Tanveer who is leading the competition and doing more than his job.
“If it was a day game, it probably looks different and you’re probably going in with two leg-spinners. It was a bit of a team balance thing.”
Tasmania, who secured hosting rights by winning their first five matches, will have Nathan Ellis and Matt Kuhnemann to bolster their bowling unit while Matthew Wade, who was an assistant coach with Australia at the T20 World Cup, is also available.
Tasmania haven’t lifted the one-day trophy since 2009-10 courtesy of a side featuring George Bailey, Tim Paine and James Faulkner.
“There’s a nice bit of motivation to create some of our own history,” captain Jordan Silk said. “It’s something I’m really keen to bring home. There were some great names in that line-up.”
The final, in which the teams will play for the Dean Jones Trophy, had originally been scheduled for February 28 but was moved so that Tasmania could host the game at Bellerive Oval with Australia’s women playing two ODIs in three against India on February 27 and March 1.
Forecast rain could play a part in the result. If the game is washed out, Tasmania claim the title as the team higher on the ladder.
New South Wales squad
Kurtis Patterson (capt), Sean Abbott, Joel Davies, Ben Dwarshuis, Matthew Gilkes, Chris Green, Ryan Hadley, Liam Hatcher, Sam Konstas, Josh Philippe, William Salzmann, Lachlan Shaw, Tanveer Sangha
Tasmania squad
Nikhil Chaudhary, Nathan Ellis, Bradley Hope, Caleb Jewell, Matt Kuhnemann, Raf MacMillan, Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Aidan O’Connor, Mitch Owen, Will Prestwidge, Jordan Silk (capt), Billy Stanlake, Matthew Wade, Charlie Wakim, Tim Ward, Beau Webster
AAP contributed to this story
Andrew McGlashan is a deputy editor at ESPNcricinfo
