Joke taken seriously: Story behind Adam Zampa’s comedy shirt number

Adam Zampa raised eyebrows when he appeared in the UAE and Major League Cricket Twenty20 leagues sporting the number 420 on his back. This is why he did it.

Daniel Cherny in Dharamsala

2 min read

October 28, 2023 - 12:00PM

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Adam Zampa has come clean on the backstory behind his decision to wear shirt No. 420 in global Twenty20 leagues this year.

The quirky Australian leg-spinner, 31, raised eyebrows earlier this year when he appeared in the UAE’s ILT20 competition and the US’s Major League Cricket sporting the number on his back.

The figure is widely-accepted slang for the consumption of marijuana.

Zampa revealed that what started out as a joke ended up being taken more seriously than he anticipated.

“I‘ll be brutally honest. Everyone knows the connotation around 420,” Zampa said.

“Last (summer) I played at the Dubai Capitals. My agent Ben (Tippett), great man. He was like, ‘what number do you want?’ Thinking he’d know that I‘m joking and he did know was joking. I was like, ‘just ask for 420’ and he was like ‘haha, all right, no worries.’ (I thought) ‘He’s not gonna do that,’” Zampa told this masthead.

“I ended up getting there expecting 88 (his Australian shirt number) on my back. Yeah, get there, pull it out. 420. And I was like, ‘no, he’s actually gone and done it.’

“Didn‘t even ask about my number for LA Knight Riders. Didn’t even ask about it. He just did it, both times. I’m putting the blame on him. I do find it extremely funny. I do not care at all. I think it’s hilarious. But it’s definitely his fault.”

Adam Zampa wears number 420 while playing for Los Angeles Knight Riders. Picture: X (Twitter)

Zampa also explained why he has been wearing sports glasses this year. And despite rugby league great Phil Gould questioning on X whether it was a fashion statement, Zampa’s gear is functional, assisting his troublesome eyesight.

“I was considering laser eye surgery and then went in (to see a specialist) between IPL and going away for MLC,” Zampa said.

“He was like ‘I don’t think this surgery’s going to be for you.’ He was like, ‘the recovery could be a while.’”

Zampa instead opted to wear sports goggles, purchasing a pair from the same retailer in Colac that supplies similar lenses to Collingwood AFL premiership player Mason Cox.

Adam Zampa has also explained why he has been wearing sports glasses this year. Picture: Getty Images

More regulation goggles would’ve come in handy earlier on the tour of India, when a swimming mishap led to Zampa sporting a gash on his face.

“I love doing underwater breath holds, get the lungs going. And I didn‘t have my goggles on. I don’t have any here actually. And I was like ‘it’s fine. Pretty confident I can swim in a straight line. And before I get to the end, I’ll stop. Just don’t hit the end.’

“(And then) ‘bang.’ And it just turned out that I just swam 10 meters straight to my right hand side. So I‘ve hopped up and thought I felt like my teeth were crooked and there was just claret everywhere.”