Last Updated on 1 year by Charbel Coorey

Cricket News: “Want to bowl carrom ball like Ashwin” – Todd Murphy | Todd Murphy says he has learnt a lot from watching R Ashwin

Todd Murphy, who made his Test debut for Australia in February this year in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, has said that he is working on developing and adding a Ravichandran Ashwin-esque carrom ball to his armoury.

The youngster was impressive in his debut series and consistently bowled in the right areas. Now, he wants to ensure he has enough variations to succeed at Test level. He admits that he is not quite there at the moment, but aims to master the art of bowling a carrom ball.

“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. If you have a delivery that goes the other way, it just poses different challenges for the batsmen,” said Murphy to AAP.

The off-spinner also believes he cannot let his stock delivery lose its effectiveness in an attempt to develop the carrom ball variation. He wants to stick to the basics and rightfully so as a bowler’s stock delivery is their biggest strength. It is, after all, the delivery a bowler sends down the most.

“You are always looking at ways to tinker and add things to your kitbag but in Test cricket you have to make sure your fundamentals are really good and your stock ball is in as good a position as you can,” Murphy added.

Todd Murphy watched R Ashwin closely in the 2023 Border-Gavaskar Trophy

In his debut series, Murphy notched 14 wickets across the four Tests against India, averaging a little more than 25. He dismissed Virat Kohli four times in four games, while also dismissing Cheteshwar Pujara on two different occasions.

Murphy, while in India, keenly observed and analysed how Ashwin bowled. The 36-year old from Tamil Nadu, Chennai, is indeed one of the modern day greats in red-ball cricket with a staggering 474 wickets in 92 Tests. Ashwin has the ninth most wickets in the history of Test cricket, and Murphy had the opportunity to have a close look at his grip, wrist position and most importantly his thought process in real time.

“That is the best part of analysis now that you have access to that the whole time. 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. 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,” said Murphy.

The attention has now shifted from T20 cricket to the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) Final, which begins on June 7. Australia will also be playing the Ashes less than a week after the WTC Final. Todd Murphy is unlikely to play a lot of games against India and England, keeping in mind the English conditions and the presence of Nathan Lyon.

But, he is keeping himself mentally and physically prepared to play whenever the team requires him to.

“Obviously at the moment Gaz (Lyon) is there and has been so good for so long. In a way I hope I don’t have to play a game on this tour because that means he is staying fit and on the park and our quicks are standing up as well.”

“It is a squad mentality. Hopefully I can add value to the squad, train hard and keep developing my skillset. If there is an opportunity that arises I have to make sure I am in a really good position to take it. I’ve got to be ready at all times. A lot of things can change and they can change fast,” Murphy concluded.