Two of Australia’s best off-spinners go head-to-head in round four of the Sheffield Shield
Corey Rocchiccioli and Todd Murphy might be full of praise for each other’s efforts over the past few years, but, come Friday morning at Junction Oval, they’ll be trying to outdo each other.
If the recent ‘A’ series was billed as a bat-off for the vacant Test opening spot, then this week’s round four Sheffield Shield clash between Victoria and Western Australia could be its spin-off.
Off-spinners Rocchiccioli and Murphy are both vying to partner veteran Nathan Lyon during next year’s two-Test tour of Sri Lanka in what looms as a crucial series for Australia’s hopes of qualifying for the World Test Championship final.
Australia are certain to name at least three specialist spinners in their squad but it’s unlikely they’ll all bowl right-arm off-spin. A bowler who turns the ball the other way, such as Matthew Kuhnemann, Mitchell Swepson or Tanveer Sangha, are likely battling it out for a third spot.
Both Rocchiccioli and Murphy impressed during Australia A’s 2-0 series victory over India A.
In the first game in Mackay, Murphy took four wickets with captain Nathan McSweeney raving about the 23-year-old’s second-innings spell to ‘break the game open’ by removing top-scorers Sai Sudharsan (103) and Devdutt Padikkal (88) in consecutive overs.