Full-time Vic deal for off-spinner

RISING spin star Todd Murphy has earned his first full Victorian contract on the back of his selection for the Australia A tour of Sri Lanka.

Murphy, 21, has played only two Sheffield Shield matches and seven one-day games but has impressed national selectors enough to be part of the succession planning for Test spinner Nathan Lyon.

The off-spinner elevated himself in selection with a seven-wicket Shield haul in March, grabbing the attention of Australian chairman of selectors George Bailey.

“Experienced players have found him hard to get away in one-day cricket,” Bailey said when the Australia A squad was announced. “He had that particularly strong game against Tasmania, but it’s as much about a scarcity of skillset. We don’t have a heap of well-established spinners.

“He’s behind Nathan Lyon as far as off-spinners go, (but) he looks really promising.”

Murphy and Cameron McClure were both upgraded to full state contracts.