IND vs AUS 2022-23, 1st Test: 'Todd Murphy is something very, very special' - Steve O'Keefe

By Team Newsable | First Published Feb 9, 2023, 11:57 AM IST

IND vs AUS 2022-23: Australia faces India in the opening Nagpur Test for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. While the visitors have handed a debut to spinner Todd Murphy, former spinner Steve O'Keefe has rated him as "very special".

Former Australian left-arm spinner Steve O'Keefe has complimented the team management's judgment on handing out Test debut to off-spinner Todd Murphy in the opening Test versus India, saying that the 22-year-old's "overspin and drop" will come in convenient in spinning subcontinental wickets. The bespectacled Murphy, presented the Baggy Green by veteran off-spinner Nathan Lyon in Nagpur on Thursday, is featuring in his maiden international match for Australia, and his selection ahead of spinners Ashton Agar and Mitchell Swepson did come as a wonder.

While Agar has featured in five Tests and is a Twenty20 International (T20I) stalwart, Swepson has worn the Baggy Green in four Tests, besides playing in 11 limited-overs games. On the other hand, Murphy has featured in just seven First-Class (FC) matches but has been remarkable in the Sheffield Shield.

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"He [Murphy] is something very, very special. The last time I was this excited about an off-spinner was Nathan Lyon. He bowls with overspin and drop. Besides that, he's got a lot of skills in his armoury, and 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 those skills in certain parts of the game and exploit them," O'Keefe declared on SEN Radio.

O'Keefe, who has 35 wickets in nine Test, also added that Murphy has a few more variations in his repertoire apart from his classic off-spin, making him a likely inheritor to Lyon in the years to come. "I think you'll see with Todd that he can bowl the classic off-spinner along with three or four other [types of deliveries]. In the next 12-18 months, I can see him as a suitable replacement for Nathan Lyon, and I think we'll see that straight away in this first Test," he thought.

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However, O'Keefe expected Murphy not to succumb to pressure as Indian batters would endeavour to disturb the youngster prematurely in the contest. "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," he voiced.

"This is what India will do. They'll put the young spinner under the pump straight away. I hope that Todd can produce his best, lock down an end, and do what is required to support the other three bowlers," concluded O'Keefe.

(With inputs from PTI)

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