Adam Zampa will prepare for the Twenty20 World Cup by bowling with water-soaked cricket balls, hopeful the weather that threatens the tournament can end up helping his bowling.
Persistent rain is forecast for Australia's opener against New Zealand on Saturday night in Sydney, with the wet weather a looming threat for several key Super 12 games.
Sunday's sold-out blockbuster at the MCG between Pakistan and India is another match facing the threat of rain, with downpours forecast on the east coast for the next week.
Traditionally, wet weather and slippery surfaces caused by dew are known to make life tricky for spinners by making the ball harder to grip.
But Zampa has long adopted the practice of dipping balls in buckets of water at training to ensure he is well-accustomed to bowling in wet conditions.
"It feels like every time we are at the SCG we're looking for the rain to come because it always seems that way. It will be in the preparation for me," Zampa said on Wednesday.
"I usually have a bucket or something I drop the ball into to prepare for that.
"I've been doing that for a long time. We play so much cricket now under lights, and a lot of the places we travel to as soon as you bowl second the dew really kicks in.
"We saw it last year in the World Cup, so basically every time you bowl second in T20 cricket you are bowling with a wet ball.
"It's really important to prepare for that."
Zampa was hopeful that wet weather on Saturday could help his game, with so much rain in the lead up to the tournament ruining any chance of a dry, spinning SCG deck.
"If there is a bit of juice in the wicket it will help the spinners," he said.
"We haven't had a summer for a long time now where there has been so much sun that the wickets have been dry enough to spin.
"So as a spinner, if there is a bit of juice in the deck you almost hope for that."
The 30-year-old was arguably Australia's best player in last year's T20 World Cup success in the UAE, taking 13 wickets at 12.07 and going at less than six per over.
He will adopt a different approach on Australian wickets, but remains confident his knowledge of ground sizes and pitches will give him an advantage over other turners.
"I understand where to try and get guys to hit," Zampa said.
"The difference in Dubai was to try and probably go under the bat a bit more. It's a little bit slower and spins.
"In Australia you can try and hit the top of the bat, bowl a lot of over-spin and try and get guys caught at long-on and long-off, because they have hit the top of the bat."
