“Todd Murphy’s Overspin And Drop Will Come In Handy”: Ex-Australia Star

Former Australia left-arm spinner Steve O’Keefe has praised the staff administration’s resolution handy out Test debut to tweaker Todd Murphy within the opening recreation towards India, saying the 22-year-old’s “overspin and drop” will come in useful on turning subcontinental tracks. The bespectacled Murphy, who was offered the Baggy Green by fellow spinner Nathan Lyon in Nagpur on Thursday, is enjoying his first worldwide match for Australia in any format and his choice forward of Ashton Agar and leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson did come as a little bit of a shock.

While Agar has performed 5 Tests and is a T20I stalwart, Swepson has donned the Baggy Green in 4 Tests, in addition to enjoying 11 white-ball matches.

Murphy, however, has performed simply seven first-class video games however has been spectacular within the Sheffield Shield.

“He (Murphy) is something very, very special. I haven’t been this excited about an off-spinner since Nathan Lyon,” O’Keefe mentioned on SEN Radio.

“I think he bowls with overspin and drop. Not only that, he’s got a lot of skills to his armoury, he can bowl square seam which is important over there… Todd Murphy is the guy in his brief cricket journey so far who can use all of those skills in certain parts of the game and really exploit them.” O’Keefe, who has 35 wickets in 9 Test, additionally added that Murphy has in his repertoire a couple of extra variations other than his basic off-spin, and this makes him a probable inheritor to Lyon within the years to come back.

“I think what you’ll see with Todd is he can bowl the classic off-spinner along with three or four other (types of deliveries). I can see him in the next 12-18 months being a suitable replacement for Nathan Lyon and I think we’ll see that straight away in this first Test.” However, O’Keefe hoped Murphy doesn’t succumb to stress as Indian batters will attempt to unsettle the teen early on within the match.

“Todd’s going to have to bowl tight, he’s going to have to bowl straight and he’s going to have to do that containing role because the last thing you want over there is two spinners that are going at four an over there, particularly if you only have two quicks,” mentioned OKeefe.

“This is what India will do, they’ll put the young spinner under the pump straight away. I just hope that Todd can produce his best and really lock down an end and do what is required to support the other three bowlers.”

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