Todd Murphy turns to Ravichandran Ashwin's dictionary ahead of WTC final and Ashes

Todd Murphy has had a remarkable beginning to his Test career as he picked up a brilliant 7/124 on his debut against India during the first Test of the four-match series in Nagpur. The 22-year-old ended up picking 14 wickets during the series at an average of 25.21. His splendid performance has earned him a place in the Australian squad for the World Test Championship final and the Ashes 2023.

Ahead of the important tour to England, the off-spinner is looking to add new tricks up his sleeve after being impressed by Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin’s carrom ball. Murphy is working to add a similar kind of delivery to his repertoire as he prepares himself to take on India and England in the upcoming tour.

"I am still working on that, but I am still a long way off being able to do it the way Ravi Ashwin can. 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,” Murphy was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.

Further talking about the delivery, Murphy revealed that he watched clips of Ashwin’s bowling and would freeze at the point of delivery to learn the craft.

"If you have a delivery that goes the other way, it just poses different challenges for the batsmen. I was really interested in watching that sort of stuff and get a close-up look of his hand and wrist position, just to see how each ball was coming out and if it was behaving differently,” he added.

WTC final to begin from June 7

Notably, Murphy is the second-choice spinner in the Australian squad after the veteran Nathan Lyon. Hence, he’s unlikely to get a game on the entire tour unless Lyon gets injured.

The World Test Championship final will begin on June 7 at the Oval in London, while the Ashes will begin from June 16 at Edgbaston in Birmingham.