Adam Zampa and his headband
Adam Zampa the good-humored leggie reckons he's "guaranteed" himself a late call-up after his match-winning contribution to Australia's victory in Perth tonight.
Plenty of onlookers may have missed it, but Zampa actually played an instrumental role in Australia's seven-wicket win over Pakistan at the WACA Ground, despite being left out of the side for the third time in the series.
The pivotal moment in the match came when the 24-year-old loaned what has quickly become his trademark black headband (A Grand Headband) to Steve Smith to use during Australia's run chase, and the skipper promptly made a match-winning century as the hosts won with five overs to spare.
Not only did Smith's performance secure a 2-1 series lead, but Zampa also believes the contribution of his headband has earned him a spot in every single touring party for as long as Smith remains captain.
Zampa revealed that Smith had been considering the controversial headwear addition for some time.
"He said he wanted to keep growing his beautiful long locks," Zampa explained in an exclusive interview that he may or may not have described as "the most intense and hard-hitting of my career".
"I said 'I don't know about them being beautiful, but you might want to keep them out of your eyes'. So, I gave him a headband and he said he'd try it out.
"But he said that three games ago and he hasn't had the 'nurries' to do it until now.
"So, he's tried it out today and got a hundred. And he's quite superstitious so I think he's going to have to keep wearing it.
"And I'm pretty sure I've guaranteed my spot in every touring party that Smithy's ever going to be on. So bad luck to a few blokes who got picked for India, but I think I'm back on that one now."
Despite being relatively young on the international stage, Zampa has quickly developed a reputation as one of the more fashion-forward cricketers in Australia.
A passionate supporter of the gold floppy hat in one-day cricket – which made its controversial return on the head of George Bailey at the WACA Ground last year – Zampa is also a strong advocate of the terry-toweling bucket hat as well as his cherished headband.
And while he remains hopeful of beating out his captain and securing the lucrative headband contract that is no doubt in the offing, he has even bigger plans on the horizon.
"I think the saddest part about it now for me is the multi-million-dollar headband deal from Grand Headbands might go to Smithy," he said.
"But the thing that he has against him is that he always has it on under his helmet. I have it on when I bowl, so I think that deal could still be in my pocket luckily.
"I've got a design I am working on with Grand Headbands which I am launching in the IPL, so stay tuned.
