From ‘daunting’ to making Kohli his bunny: The Aussie prep that let Murphy leap into Test side

Todd Murphy says a focus on white ball cricket through the middle of the Australian summer helped him make such a rapid leap into the Test side.

The rookie spinner has burst onto the international scene in India, impressing with his commitment to bowling with side-spin to match the conditions while claiming 11 wickets at a miserly average of 22.

Virat Kohli has already been counted among the 22-year-old’s dismissals three times, with Murphy the first bowler in Test cricket to have the Indian star out stumped when the pair locked horns in Delhi.

Murphy said facing down the likes of Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara had been “daunting” during his debut tour, which he arrived on unaware of what a prominent role he would play for Australia.

“I look back to Nagpur and when (Kohli) walked out to bat, I was at the top of my mark just thinking, ‘wow, this is as good as it gets to get to bowl to a guy like that’,” he said.

“To be able to have that for the first three Tests and a couple of really good battles has been awesome, and really enjoyable.

“No different to bowling to a lot of their guys … standing there, it’s daunting at times but it’s also very exciting.”

Murphy credited his preparation for Victorian one-day games and his BBL campaign for the Sydney Sixers with his ability to use side-spin to such great effect in India.

Commentators have observed his use of seam positions and spin helps provide the point of difference to allow him to play alongside Nathan Lyon, who relies more on overspin.

“It’s something that I’ve been able to work away while playing a lot of white ball cricket, just varying seam positions and speeds, and I think that’s been able to hold me in decent stead over here obviously that I can just sort of adapt to whatever need be,” Murphy said.

“Also playing with Nathan Lyon there’s different roles I’ve got to play, so to be able to do that and be able to come out of different scenarios has been handy for me.”

He said he was not at all bothered after bowling fewer overs in Indore despite his excellent rhythm, with left-armer Matt Kuhnemann stepping up to bowl more in tandem with Lyon.

“Steve (Smith) talked about it before the last Test – putting your ego away and just knowing that you’re only going to come on and bowl short spells at times, and it doesn’t mean you’re not bowling well,” he said.

“Just accepting that … if you want to be able to work, the three of us, you’ve got to be able to do that.”