‘A strong spin option’: Australia name Todd Murphy in Test squad for tour of India
Todd Murphy has bowled his way into Australia’s Test squad with the Victorian one of four spinners selected for next month’s tour to India. Uncapped at Test level, Murphy has been named alongside fellow tweakers Nathan Lyon, Ashton Agar and Mitchell Swepson.
Matthew Renshaw and Peter Handscomb have also earned call ups with Marcus Harris left out, as Australia try to win a series in India for the first time since 2004. Captain Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Scott Boland and Lance Morris are the five quicks, with Australia preparing to play as many as three in some Tests and as few as one in others.
Starc will miss the first Test in Nagpur on 9 February with a finger injury and will join the squad afterwards, while allrounder Cameron Green will tour from the outset with his broken finger.
“We have selected a squad that provides the depth and flexibility required to adapt depending on the conditions we may encounter,” chief selector George Bailey said.
Such is Australia’s stability, Murphy is one of only two players in the group not to have played Test cricket before. The offspinner impressed on last year’s Australia A tour of Sri Lanka, and stayed on as a reserve bowler for the main Test tour afterwards. He has since starred in the Sheffield Shield, with 14 wickets at an average of 17.71 this summer.
“Todd Murphy has progressed quickly having impressed in domestic cricket and recently with Australia A,” Bailey said. “With those performances Todd has emerged as a strong spin option.”
Those returns have also impressed the likes of Lyon, with Murphy a genuine chance to play as a second or third spinner in India. Left-armer Agar will likely begin the tour as the firstchoice backup with his ability to turn the ball the other way, but Murphy remains an option.
“There’s no secret that I’m very impressed by Todd Murphy,” Lyon said last month. “I have done a lot of work with Todd, been around the Sixers with him. He’s definitely put his hand up.
“I first bowled with him two years ago in the Shield bubble ... He’s got the skillset there. It’s just about him learning the craft tactically and mentally and just really honing in on that skillset of bowling an unbelievable stock ball.”
Australia could make further changes to the squad between the second Test in Delhi and the the third in Dharamsala, with a lengthy gap between the matches.
Australia squad: Pat Cummins (captain), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Peter Handscomb, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Lance Morris, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner.
• This article was amended on 11 January 2023. A previous version incorrectly stated that Todd Murphy was the only current player in the Test squad not to have a Test cap.