Zampa wins after epic journey – however is upstaged by Aussie | USAEMALL.com

Adam Zampa’s 34,000km round trip to bowl 20 balls at Lord’s has proved a fruitful journey after his Oval Invincibles won the Hundred final — even if was upstaged by a much-less heralded Australian leg-spinning teammate.

Not long off the plane after his 30-hour journey, Zampa played a big part with 10 minutes of crafty tweaking that helped stifle the big-hitting of his Rockets’ mate Marcus Stoinis, whose 64 off 38 balls ultimately wasn’t enough to stop the Invincibles winning a third straight crown by 26 runs on Sunday.

But the plaudits at the home of cricket were all for Nathan Sowter, a Penrith-born tweaker and former NSW Under-23 player, who conjured up a brilliant three-wicket burst in just six balls to rip the heart out of the Rockets’ chase after the Invincibles had posted 5-168 off their 100 balls.

At the ground where he once played for Middlesex, the 32-year-old Sowter, who also has a UK passport through his English mother, bowled a devastating spell of 10 balls a row — permitted in the Hundred format — in which he grabbed the key wickets of Joe Root, Rehan Ahmed and Tom Banton for just three runs.

It earned him enthusiastic congratulations from Zampa, who also did his bit to strangle the Nottingham side’s response as he went for only 21 runs off his 20 balls just as the increasingly pressurised Rockets’ batters sought to go after him.

With one bit of magic, he drifted one wide to have the opposition captain David Willey neatly stumped by his counterpart, Sam Billings.

Stoinis couldn’t get him away either and though the power-hitter smashed three sixes in four balls off Tom Curran and also smote a couple of other maximums, it proved in vain as he finally got trapped lbw off the very last ball of the innings with the Rockets ending on 8-142, their hopes having long since departed.

England star Will Jacks was the Invincibles’ batting matchwinner after they had decided to bat, bludgeoning 72 off 41 balls, and it proved a key moment when he was given a life on 28, caught off a waist-high no-ball from Stoinis.

Zampa, who’s played for the Invincibles in both their previous Hundred-winning campaigns, had not been able to play this season while on Australia duty, but Sowter and Jason Behrendorff (0-16 off 10 balls) have been at the heart of the team.

But Zampa grabbed the chance to play the final when an SOS went out from the team’s Australian coach Tom Moody, asking if the 33-year-old could come over to replace Rashid Khan, who had been recalled for Afghanistan duty.

“Today was just my night, so I’m very happy,” said player of the match Sowter. “I’ve been given the reins the last few games to lead the spin attack, and we’ve got the result again.”

Billings enthused: “Sows encapsulates this group perfectly, he’s a bundle of energy who puts his heart on the line every time. He’s been fantastic for us.”

And the captain also had special words of praise for former Test batter Moody. “I’ve learned a huge amount from Tom, he’s done it all over the world, and we learn every day off a guy like that. He’s very unique – a huge part of this triumph.”