It can sometimes be difficult to get athletes to divert from the ‘team effort’ narrative and single out players who are facing lofty expectations.

But when three Aussie squad members were posed the question of who looms as their most important player entering the World Cup, all three didn’t hesitate in responding swiftly with the same answer.

“If you look across our past two World Cup wins, in 2021 and the last (50-over) World Cup (in 2023), Adam Zampa has been by far our most important player,” Australian skipper Mitch Marsh told The West Australian.

“Every challenge that is thrown his way, he just loves it. We’re absolutely blessed to have him and I’ve got no doubt he’s going to be a big player for us.”