Rising Aussie spinner Todd Murphy reveals his very surprising family connection to Shane Warne – and his biggest goal on the Ashes tour
- Todd Murphy hopes to star in the Ashes series
- Probably Nathan Lyon’s understudy in England
- Spinner snagged 14 wickets on the recent Indian tour
Up-and-coming Australian off-spinner Todd Murphy has revealed his family connection to the late Shane Warne – before outlining his goals for the Ashes.
Murphy, 22, made his Test debut on the India tour in February and was impressive, taking 14 subcontinent wickets.
The promising tweaker has revealed that his dad Jamie was a teammate of Warne’s at Melbourne’s St Kilda Cricket Club.
“I’m going to try to compete as hard as I can and keep trying to develop my skills as best I can,” said Murphy, who made just seven first-class appearances for Victoria before his Test debut this year. Code sports.
“At this point I know where I am in that sentence, and, Gaz [Lyon] has been so good for so long and rightfully deserves to still be by far the number 1 spinner in Australia.
Todd Murphy was a revelation on the recent tour of India, taking 14 wickets in the series
Murphy was named to the 17-man Ashes squad, but will likely play second fiddle to Nathan Lyon (pictured)
Murphy also revealed that his father Jamie (pictured centre) used to play cricket in Melbourne with the late Shane Warne
‘I have no problem with that. But yeah, I’m definitely going to be there and try to keep tapping into him and keep developing as much as possible.
“And when an opportunity arises, try to make sure that I am as well equipped as possible to seize it. But I’m under no illusions about where I am in that order.’
Ahead of the Ashes – which begins on June 16 with the first test at Edgbaston – Murphy was due for a stint in county cricket at Durham, but a few niggles in India saw that opportunity disappear.
“The intention was there and the opportunity I was really excited about,” he said.
“I had a much higher workload in India than I think we all expected [he bowled a total of 137 overs in the Test series].
“Unfortunately I had a small meniscus injury on the left knee and then also a right Achilles tendon…
Steve Smith (Sussex) and Marnus Labuschagne (Glamorgan) have both played county cricket in recent weeks to adjust to the Dukes prom.
And speedy Michael Neser – who was overlooked for the Ashes – recently claimed a hat-trick for Glamorgan.
But before a ball is thrown between Pat Cummins’ side and England, Australia and India will meet in the final of the World Test Championship (WTC) at The Oval in London from June 7.
New Zealand defeated India in the inaugural 2021 WTC decider.