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Ireland captain rues the team’s lack of opportunities in the longest format and looks ahead to their USA, Caribbean tours

Matt Roller22-Dec-2021″Test cricket looks fun,” Andy Balbirnie, Ireland’s captain, tweeted on the second morning of the first Ashes Test. “Anyone want a game?? Seriously.”Ireland will head into the new year with the same, old problems: funding, facilities and fixtures. Their progress has been slow since they became Full Members of the ICC in 2017, highlighted by a first-round exit at the 2021 T20 World Cup after a humbling defeat to Namibia, and it is two-and-a-half years since they last played a Test.”We’re a Test member, or a Full Member, but at the moment it only really feels like a name,” Balbirnie said on Tuesday. “Nothing’s really showing for that. We’ve had our days out at Lord’s and Malahide but apart from that, all I can see is a name. It’ll be three years in the summer that we haven’t played a Test match.”Related

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Ireland’s ascent to Full-Member status means that, after a two-year grace period, their players no longer qualify as locals in county cricket, taking away a crucial breeding ground. “In my opinion, that was hugely detrimental to some of the young cricketers here,” Balbirnie said.”It’s massively disappointing, watching all of these brilliant Test series around the world – the Ashes particularly, staying up all night to watch such an historic series. I go back to that Lord’s Test because it was the highlight of a career. For the young guys coming through to maybe not have that experience again, that’s hugely disappointing.”The latest version of the Future Tours Programme sees Ireland pencilled in to play away Tests against Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in the next 18 months, but they are used to having fixtures cancelled at short notice, not least during the Covid era.Their long-term fixture list has been hit by the ICC’s decision to scrap the World Cup Super League after its inaugural edition – though Balbirnie admits there is an element of relief that the prospect of relegation for the next World Cup cycle is now off the table.”It’s a great thing for countries who aren’t in the Super League to strive towards,” Balbirnie said. “Certainly Holland had that opportunity in this [cycle] to play against the top teams, and they’re games that the countries below where we are need to play – to see how they can go against the top teams, and also to get kids to want to follow them.”The possibility of getting relegated from that league had some huge knock-on effects and some potentially damning years ahead, so without beating around the bush, there is a bit of a relief in that regard – but long-term, for the worldwide game, it’s a disappointing move but something we can’t control.””We were really disappointed about the T20 World Cup” – Andrew Balbirnie•Karim Sahib/AFP/Getty Images

The immediate outlook is more positive as Ireland look to rebuild following their early exit at the T20 World Cup and Graham Ford’s departure as head coach. They are in Florida over the Christmas period for two T20Is and three ODIs, becoming the first Full Member to play against USA on American soil in the process, and will then fly to Jamaica on New Year’s Eve for three Super League ODIs and a one-off T20I against West Indies.Their preparation has been hit by Covid, with several players returning positive tests in the build-up to the series, but David Ripley – the interim head coach – has a team that is nearly at full strength for Wednesday’s opening game.One positive on this tour is that Covid restrictions have been eased, after several series in bubbles. “It’s the way, in my opinion, it has to be going forward,” Balbirnie said. “That bit of freedom makes it a completely different tour with a lot less stress. I think all of us are double-jabbed; I’m not going to say everyone should be [but] the best thing to do, in my opinion, is to protect yourself and others around you.”Kevin O’Brien has been dropped, with the selectors bringing the curtain down on his fine international career. In his absence, Balbirnie, who had a disappointing T20 World Cup with 70 runs off 73 balls across three innings, will shift up to open the batting alongside Paul Stirling.Shane Getkate will bat at No. 5 as a finisher, with William McClintock also likely to slot into the middle order, and Curtis Campher is expected to fill the role as the “glue” batter, the role in which Alex Wakely thrived when Ripley coached Northamptonshire to two T20 Blast titles.”When we sat down after the World Cup and looked at the areas we stumbled in,” Balbirnie said. “Our boundary count in the middle [overs] hasn’t been good enough or consistent enough, and that’s something we need to address. We don’t want to put too much pressure on our batters but we understand that’s an area we need to improve.”Ireland will have to improve quickly, with the qualifiers for next year’s T20 World Cup due to be staged in Muscat in February. They will be the favourites to seal one of the two spots up for grabs in their half of the qualifying draw (a separate qualifier will be held in Zimbabwe in July) but will face competition from Oman, Nepal and UAE in particular.”We were really disappointed about the T20 World Cup,” Balbirnie added, “and this is just a chance to go out and try to play with a bit of freedom and give the guys confidence to go out and express themselves. It’s easy to say that but we’ve all got to go out and do it once we get over that line. I’ve seen a lot of good stuff in the period we have had here.”

There’s no lack of context in what is a World Cup year, but Lanning and Knight aren’t looking too far ahead as they face off in the ODI leg of the women’s Ashes

Andrew McGlashan02-Feb-2022The rest of this Ashes series will do well to match the drama of the Test that played out at Manuka Oval. It was a contest that may yet be pivotal in a sustained revival of the format in the women’s game.That is a longer-term ambition and one that the administrators need to take seriously (highlighted by the fact that there are currently no further Tests on the schedule), but in the immediate future there is an equally important challenge to focus the minds of Australia and England.Related

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Not that these ODIs, which will decide the Ashes, need any further context, but looming on the horizon is the World Cup in New Zealand. England are defending champions, Australia have long spoken of their drive to banish the memories of their semi-final exit in 2017, and their opening World Cup match is between each other on March 5. But Meg Lanning and Heather Knight are not looking further than these three outings.”We don’t want to think too far ahead because as soon as we do that it will come crashing down pretty quick,” Lanning said.”If we try and do the right things it will prepare us for the World Cup” Knight said. “We haven’t got our eye on that [the World Cup] at all, it’s all about that first game and trying to bring the good stuff we’ve done so far and polish a few things.”There was somewhat less raw emotion in Knight’s voice as she spoke on Wednesday compared to her post-Test interview with the BBC on Sunday evening. She knew how close her team had got to putting themselves ahead in the multi-format series and, in truth, knew they should have won.It could have been worse had those last 13 balls not been kept out by Sophie Ecclestone and Kate Cross because an Australia win would have finished the Ashes off there and then, but England now need to win the ODIs 3-0 to wrestle them back for the first time since 2013-14.That is a huge ask against a side that had a 26-match unbeaten run in the format until their most recent outing against India, but amid the agonising near-miss three days ago, Knight felt England had laid down a marker.”Felt like we were in a great position to win it and at the end there it felt a little bit like a loss, but the way we went at that chase was awesome,” she said. “I certainly think they were the most relieved with the draw. It’s shown that when we do go hard at them we can put them under pressure and create a few cracks.”Real character from the girls, to show that we can do that and want to go at the Australians. We’ve talked about it a lot before the series and so pleased that the girls put themselves out there and tried to chase it down.”England have won their three ODI series since cricket resumed in the pandemic – two against New Zealand and one against India – but their last meeting against Australia in the Ashes during the 2019 series was a 3-0 defeat.Those three matches were part of Australia’s winning streak – the third of them featuring Ellyse Perry’s 7 for 22 – and there remains understandable confidence in the one-day game. India pushed them harder than most earlier this season and, having narrowly seen victory slip away in the second match because of a waist-high full-toss, reset Australia’s counter to zero in the next game.There were some questions raised about Lanning’s captaincy when the pressure was on in the closing stages of the Test, although they were eventually able to pull a draw out of the fire with Annabel Sutherland and Alana King impressing in what effectively became one-day death bowling, albeit without wides and fielding restrictions.The Test at Manuka Oval was a contest that may yet be pivotal in a sustained revival of the format in the women’s game•Getty Images

So far the absence of Sophie Molineux and Georgia Wareham from the spin attack has been well covered, while quick Tayla Vlaeminck has since joined them in missing the World Cup, but it will be interesting to watch how Australia adapt in the 50-over game.Though Amanda-Jade Wellington is part of the World Cup squad as a second legspinner alongside King, Lanning indicated that she would not be drafted in for this series unless there was injury or illness, leaving the road clear for King to continue as first choice.”[The Test] turned into a bit of a one-day game and it does go to show that when you put partnerships together it’s pretty difficult to get wickets. So that’s a bit of a sign for the ODI series,” Lanning said. “From a bowling perspective, we need to be able to take wickets and put them under pressure, and from a batting point of view, when you get in you really need to make sure you are making the most of it.”We are really comfortable with our ODI game at the moment, feel like it’s in a good spot, but we need to make sure we bring our best to beat England.”Lanning confirmed that Megan Schutt would return, having been left out of the Test to manage her workload after Covid-19, while they could have either Ashleigh Gardner or Tahlia McGrath as low as No. 7. Knight said there were no injury concerns and a 12-player squad had already been narrowed down. It’s make or break for England.

He was the most expensive player the franchise bought in the IPL 2022 auctions, at INR 12.25 crore

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Feb-2022Kolkata Knight Riders have named Shreyas Iyer their new captain for the upcoming IPL season. Iyer was Knight Riders’ most expensive buy at the IPL 2022 auction last weekend – for INR 12.25 crore (USD 1.63 million approx.) – and became their highest-paid player by overtaking Andre Russell’s salary of INR 12 crore (USD 1.6 million approx.).Iyer takes over from Eoin Morgan, under whom Knight Riders had reached the IPL final last year and lost to Chennai Super Kings.”We are delighted firstly to have been able to successfully bid for Shreyas in the IPL auction and to have the opportunity for him to lead #TeamKKR,” Venky Mysore, CEO & MD of Knight Riders said in a statement. “He has impressed one and all as a quality batsman at the highest level and we are confident that he will excel as a leader of #TeamKKR.”Related

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Iyer has had considerable success as captain in the IPL. He led Delhi Capitals, his last franchise, to the playoffs in consecutive years in 2019 (eliminator) and 2020 (final). He led them from 2018 to 2021 before a shoulder injury during the home series against England early last year had ruled him out of IPL 2021. But the IPL was then postponed in May because of the rising Covid-19 cases in India, and when he returned to the squad for the second leg in the UAE, the Capitals management decided to continue with Rishabh Pant as captain, who had taken over from Iyer in May.Overall, Iyer has led in 41 matches in the IPL, out of which he won 21, lost 18 and two ended in ties.”I am extremely honoured to have gotten the opportunity to lead a prestigious team like KKR,” Iyer said. “The IPL as a tournament brings the best players from different countries and cultures together and I look forward to leading this great group of very talented individuals.”Iyer will join head coach Brendon McCullum in the team management, which also includes a new member in Bharat Arun as their bowling coach.”I am very excited to have one of India’s brightest future leaders in Shreyas Iyer, take the reins at KKR,” McCullum said. “I’ve enjoyed Shreyas’ game and his captaincy skills from afar and now will look forward to working closely with him to drive forward the success and style of play we want at KKR.”After the last IPL, Iyer also made a scintillating Test debut with a century and half-century at No. 5 against New Zealand in Kanpur. When the time came for IPL retentions, Iyer opted to go into the mega auction instead of being retained by Capitals.Iyer was then bagged by Knight Riders as the third most expensive player at the auction, after Ishan Kishan (INR 15.25 crore by Mumbai Indians) and Deepak Chahar (INR 14.00 crore by Chennai Super Kings).

New Zealand will likely field an unchanged side with Gary Stead not expecting conditions to differ much

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Feb-2022Trent Boult will not be available for the second Test against South Africa with his lack of recent bowling deemed to be put him at too great of an injury risk.It means Boult has likely played his last home international cricket of the season with those having IPL deals expected to be unavailable for the ODI series against Netherlands at the end of March.Boult was not in the squad for the opening match of the series in Christchurch as his wife awaited the birth of their third child and though he will join team-mates to bowl in the nets around the second Test it was felt too much of an ask to put him through a game.Related

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“[He] is not in a position to be available with his loads and where he’s at,” New Zealand coach Gary Stead said. “Since his wife has been having the baby he’s missed out on a lot of opportunities to play cricket and bowl. We just felt the risk of him playing was far too great at the moment.”New Zealand have retained an unchanged 15-player squad for the second Test which means no place for a specialist spinner. Ajaz Patel has yet to return to Plunket Shield action after injury and Stead did not expect conditions to alter much from the first Test where New Zealand’s quicks dominated by bowling out South Africa for 95 and 111. Allrounder Rachin Ravindra is part of the squad should a spin-bowling option be required.”We considered a [frontline] spin option but didn’t feel as though we needed it on this pitch, through history and the way it was looking after the last Test match,” Stead said.The absence of Boult and lack of changes to the squad means the same four-strong pace attack that dismantled South Africa first time around are set to get another chance together. Matt Henry was the leading light with a career-best 7 for 23 as part of a nine-wicket match haul.”He’s always been a good bowler and sometimes you need that opportunity to strike and make the most it,” Stead said. “He bowled beautifully throughout the Test but I thought the whole bowling unit bowled really well together and thought that was one of the reasons we were so convincing.”

Australia’s team physio also tests positive on the morning of the opening ODI; rest of the players test negative

Alex Malcolm29-Mar-2022Spinner Ashton Agar has become the second Australia player to test positive for Covid-19 in 24 hours, and has been ruled out of the entire ODI series against Pakistan in Lahore.Cricket Australia (CA) confirmed on Tuesday morning in Pakistan that Agar had tested positive, just 24 hours after Josh Inglis also tested positive. Australia team physiotherapist Brendan Wilson has also tested positive. All other players and staff returned negative tests.Australia will also be without Mitchell Marsh, who suffered a hip flexor injury at training on Monday. Australia have a very limited squad to choose from after Steven Smith was ruled out of the series with an elbow issue.The visitors were planning on playing two spinners in the opening ODI, which opens the door for Mitchell Swepson to possibly make his ODI debut alongside Adam Zampa.Queensland batter Matt Renshaw was flown into Lahore on Monday as extra batting cover but has to complete three days isolation before joining the team.Agar had most recently been a part of Australia’s T20I squad for the home series against Sri Lanka; he played three matches and picked up three wickets at an average of 15.66. Agar has not played an ODI since last July, against West Indies in Bridgetown.The three-match ODI series against Pakistan will be held entirely in Lahore, with the second match on March 31, and third on April 2.

Bad weather ruins prospect of fighting finish as Compton guides Kent to safety

ECB Reporters Network15-May-2022Division One leaders Surrey drew their LV= Insurance County Championship match with Kent after rain ruined the final day at Beckenham.Just 9.2 overs were possible, with Kent moving from their overnight score of 82 for 1 to 114 for one during two mini-sessions, still 327 runs behind Surrey’s first innings score of 671 for nine.Surrey had been favourites after forcing Kent to follow on on day three, but conditions deteriorated throughout the day and play was abandoned at 3.48 pm, Kent taking 10 points and Surrey 16.Ben Compton was unbeaten on 63, while night-watchman Matt Milnes was not out on 16 at stumps.Day four began with a minute’s silence in memory of Andrew Symonds, who played for Kent between 1999 and 2004.A break in the weather meant play started on time and the hosts resumed on 82 for one, still 359 behind. Conditions were overcast and the ball swung almost immediately but Compton reached 50 in the first over when he pulled Daniel Worrall for a single.Light rain began to fall and the players went off after 29 minutes, Kent having moved to 108 without further loss. Lunch was taken early and although play resumed at 1.35pm, by then it was already raining again.After nine increasingly moist minutes, during which Kent advanced to 114, the players came off again, Compton having added six to his score. After two further hours of waiting and with no prospect of improvement, the game was abandoned as a draw.The draw lifts Kent off the bottom of the table ahead of Gloucestershire.

In all they have lost 10 points to over-rate offences in the current WTC cycle

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Jun-2022England have been docked two World Test Championship (WTC) points and their players have been fined 40% of their match fee for maintaining a slow over rate in their epic win in the second Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge. This adds up to a total of 10 docked points for the side in this WTC cycle; they had lost eight points during the second Ashes Test in Brisbane last year.Related

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The hosts were ruled to be two overs short, after allowances were taken into consideration, by the on-field umpires Michael Gough and Paul Reiffel, third umpire Rod Tucker and fourth umpire Martin Saggers. Captain Ben Stokes pleaded guilty to the offence, with match referee Richie Richardson imposing the sanction without the need for a formal hearing.England’s WTC points tally had risen to 42 after their win, before coming back down to 40. Importantly, their points percentage – the key criteria in determining where teams sit on the WTC table – fell from 25 to 23.80, putting them at eighth spot on the WTC table – behind New Zealand.England had scripted a stunning victory at Trent Bridge, with Jonny Bairstow and Stokes putting on a dominating 179-run stand to help chase down 299 on the last day, having been reduced to 93 for 4 at one point. Bairstow blazed his way to 136 off 92 balls, his 77-ball hundred falling just one ball shy of England’s 120-year-old record for their fastest Test century. Following Bairstow’s dismissal, Stokes and Ben Foakes guided England home, the highest successful Test chase at Trent Bridge. Stokes remained unbeaten at the close with 75 off 70 balls.In accordance with the ICC’s rules relating to over-rate offences, players are fined 20% of their match fee for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time. As per the WTC playing conditions, a side is penalised one point for each over short.

He has his sights on another pre-Ashes spell with Glamorgan if the schedule allows him

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jun-2022Marnus Labuschagne will be aiming to copy Joe Root’s playbook in Sri Lanka as he prepares for what he expects will be his toughest challenge yet against spin.Labuschagne completed his latest county stint with Glamorgan on Sunday in an abandoned T20 clash against Surrey, but not before he had taken 2 for 27 from his four overs ahead of a tour were his legspin could be used more regularly by Aaron Finch and Pat Cummins.However, it will be with the bat where he will have his best chance to define games, especially the two Tests in Galle which conclude the tour.Related

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Root had a phenomenal Test series in Sri Lanka in early 2021 where he made first-innings scores of 228 and 186 in Galle which followed a century in Pallekele on the previous tour.Labuschagne’s Test career started against Pakistan in the UAE in 2018 but his only other experience in Asia was the recent series in Pakistan. The home side’s spinners underwhelmed in those three matches where Labuschagne started with 90 in Rawalpindi before collecting first-innings ducks in the next two games.”For me, it’s my first real subcontinent challenge against spin, it’s about conquering that challenge,” Labuschagne told . “Joe Root played phenomenally over there, I’ve learned a lot from how he went about his game there.”As a team we want to be the best in the world, it doesn’t matter where you take us, we want to be winning games and I certainly think we can do that in Sri Lanka. I’ll have to get used to conditions, the heat and sweating it out, which is something we haven’t had the last few games [in the UK].”Although Labuschagne is now returning to Australia duty at the start of what will be a hectic period of national action he is keen for another pre-Ashes stint with Glamorgan next year.Labuschagne’s schedule is not as crammed as some of Australia’s three-format players as he is not yet a regular in the T20I side, but there are 11 Tests scheduled up to next March plus a lot of ODI cricket so he is aware he may need to manage his workload while his wife Rebekah is also expecting their first child later in the year.He has often credited his 2019 spell with Glamorgan as a key part of why he was able to have immediate success when parachuted into the side as Steven Smith’s concussion substitute at Lord’s.”There’s a lot of things in the mix, but I can’t see anything wrong with trying to copy the last time I played in the Ashes here, and play some county cricket with Glamorgan [going] into the Ashes next summer,” he said.”That’s our blueprint but we’ve got so much cricket this year, around 16 Tests and 18 one-day games, so we’re going to have to make sure I’m fit and healthy, and also get to spend time at home with my wife and child at some stage.”

Eleven wickets fell on day two in Galle, with Pakistan trailing by 187 runs

Andrew Fidel Fernando25-Jul-2022Sri Lanka made huge strides towards taking control of the Test on the second day, despite having lost their last four wickets for 63 runs in the morning.Asitha Fernando made the crucial breakthrough, removing form batter Abullah Shafique with the second ball of the innings, before the spinners went to work. Prabath Jayasuriya had Babar Azam playing on. Dhananjaya de Silva slipped a full delivery through Imam-ul-Haq’s defences. Mohammad Rizwan, Fawad Alam, and Mohammad Nawaz were out to Ramesh Mendis’ offspin.The end result is that although Pakistan kept Sri Lanka to a manageable 378 in the first innings, they’ve stumbled so badly, they are now fighting to stay alive in the Test. Agha Salman, playing his second Test, was the batter who fought hardest, hitting 62 off 126 balls, as wickets fell around him. His dismissal off what turned out to be the last ball of the day entrenched Sri Lanka’s dominant position, however.Things had begun so well for Pakistan. Naseem Shah blew Sri Lanka’s overnight pair away in the first half-hour of play. He first fired a vicious one at debutant Dunith Wellalage’s throat in the fourth over of the day, which the batter could only fend to second slip, as he tried to get out of the way. In Naseem’s next over, another bouncer accounted for Niroshan Dickwella, who tried to help the ball around the corner, and only managed to give an edge. Dickwella had got to his half-century shortly before, having begun the day on 42.Yasir Shah then took the last two wickets as Ramesh Mendis prevented an all-out lower-order folding, with his 35, during which he struck up a 20-run partnership with No. 10 Prabath Jayasuriya, and a 25-run last-wicket stand with Asitha. Still, 378 did not seem like a total that locked Pakistan out of the game.The Pakistan top order though, did not take advantage of the situation. Second ball of the innings, their form batter Shafique played a leaden-footed push at Asitha, whose length delivery took the inside edge and cannoned into middle and leg stump.Babar Azam was out next, also chopping on, pushing at a full Prabath Jayasuriya delivery that did not turn as much as expected, to be out for 16. Imam was also bowled, but this time the bat did not interfere. De Silva beat him in the air, and slipped the ball into middle.From there, it wasn’t quite a procession, but the wickets fell regularly. Mohammad Rizwan was lbw playing back to a quicker one from Ramesh. It looked plumb from the outset, but Rizwan burned one of his team’s reviews. Fawad Alam battled to 24 before he too played back to a sliding Ramesh delivery, that hit him in front. Fawad didn’t review.Mohammad Nawaz was out a little more than 10 overs later, when he edged Ramesh behind. But Pakistan’s best batter of the day was also out before the day’s end. Salman ground his way through the innings, not hitting a boundary in his first 67 balls. When he did hit out, he advanced to pound Jayasuriya over long on, before sweeping him for four behind deep square leg.Salman was more adventurous after that, particularly when he used his feet. He got to his maiden fifty off 93 balls, and was out off the last delivery of the day for 62, edging Jayasuriya to slip.Of Sri Lanka’s bowlers, Ramesh returned the best figures, taking 3 for 42. Pakistan had two bowlers on three wickets in their innings too – Yasir taking 3 for 80, and Naseem 3 for 58.It didn’t seem like a bowlers’ pitch on day two at Galle. And yet, 11 wickets fell.

Former India player parts ways with Cricket Australia after six years as the men’s spin coach

Alex Malcolm29-Jul-2022Sridharan Sriram will end his six-year tenure as an assistant coach with Australia’s men’s national team in order to focus on his coaching role with Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL.”After being on the road for six years it’s with a heavy heart I have decided to move on from my current role as an assistant coach of the Australian men’s team,” Sriram said in a statement. “I feel this is an opportune moment keeping in mind the team, giving them enough time to prepare for two World Cups and the World Test Championship. It has been a great experience for me working across formats, World Cups and Ashes and I have come out incredibly richer in knowledge.”Sriram, the former India allrounder, has been an important figure in Australia’s coaching set-up since being appointed as a spin coach under Darren Lehmann in 2016. He has had a big influence on the careers of Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar, in particular, and has worked closely with Nathan Lyon. He has also been a key figure in Glenn Maxwell’s development as a T20 spinner with both Australia and Royal Challengers.He had been fulfilling his duties with Australia while still being based in Chennai. But a change in coaching personnel with the Australia team has seen former New Zealand spinner Daniel Vettori join new coach Andrew McDonald as the full-time bowling coach. Vettori filled in as Australia’s bowling coach on the limited-overs portion of the tour to Pakistan when Sriram was unable to tour.”I am extremely grateful to Cricket Australia for all their support in the years that I have been involved with them,” he said. “I would like to thank my head coaches Darren Lehmann, Justin Langer and Andrew McDonald and my captains Steve Smith, Tim Paine, Aaron Finch and Pat Cummins who all believed in me.”Thanks also to Ben Oliver, Brian McFadyen, all the players and staff for welcoming me with open arms and making me feel a part of the group. Greg Chappell, Troy Cooley, Pat Howard and Marcus Stoinis were also instrumental in getting me involved. I wish the team and the coaches the very best for the future.”Zampa, who thrived under Sriram on his way to becoming arguably the best bowler in the T20 World Cup last year, was grateful for his influence. “I love working with Sri, he’s someone I have a lot of respect for and his work ethic and knowledge of the game have been invaluable to my career in recent years,” Zampa said.