After the conclusion of the IPL, all eyes in the cricket world are now on the World Test Championship (WTC), where India and Australia will face off. This match will determine the next World Test Champions and is scheduled to begin on June 7 at The Oval.
India, who narrowly missed out on winning the inaugural championship in 2021, are determined to claim the prestigious mace this time. In recent years, India has been a dominant team in Test cricket, winning the last four encounters against Australia. When the two teams last met, the matches were heavily influenced by spinners, with India emerging triumphant with a 2-1 victory. However, we witnessed a commendable fight from a couple of newcomers from the Australian squad.
One of these newcomers is Todd Murphy, who made his debut in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy earlier this year. Murphy played in all four Test matches and took 14 wickets at an average of 25.21.
He managed to trouble the Indian batsmen in spin-friendly conditions. Now, Murphy is eager to enhance his bowling skills by incorporating Indian off-spinner R Ashwin’s “carrom ball” into his repertoire, aiming to become even more threatening on the field.
“It is simple in a way, and yet so difficult. It is just about being confident that you can execute it. I’d love to be able to add that myself one day. If you have a delivery that goes the other way it just poses different challenges for the batsmen,” Murphy said
However, Murphy emphasized the importance of maintaining strong fundamentals while making changes and incorporating variations into his bowling repertoire. He stressed that, in Test cricket, the stock ball should always be prioritized.
Murphy spoke highly of Ashwin and admired the way the experienced off-spinner went about his business in Indian conditions. “In those conditions, his skillsets are as good as anyone and it was amazing to just watch the subtle variations he is able to implement in sequencing throughout his overs.”
