Murphy out to rebound from 'frustrating' summer

Todd Murphy is determined to reassert himself as Nathan Lyon's Test successor following a painful summer in which the young off-spinner fell into an injury-marred form slump.

Murphy began the 2023-24 domestic season as one of the country's brightest prospects after playing major roles alongside, and then as a replacement for, Lyon on challenging Test tours of India and the United Kingdom last year.

His subsequent return of 17 wickets at 38 in his first full Sheffield Shield campaign was hardly an embarrassment. But a series of right shoulder issues derailed his hopes of maintaining the kind of potency that had seen him dismiss the likes of Virat Kohli, Ben Stokes and Joe Root over the preceding months.

"I reckon that was probably the biggest challenge," Murphy told cricket.com.au. "I built it up like it was going to be quite an important summer for me, and I really wanted to do well off the back of that (his Test appearances).

"Then unfortunately it just didn't play out like that. It was just challenging the whole way through, and I never felt like I was at my best.

"But I think it was one of those (experiences) that you look back on and you take a bit out of. I learnt a few things about myself and how I'm going to approach games going forward.

"I had a shoulder niggle that was there the whole season and I probably I wasn't having the success I wanted to on the field, so I was pushing hard at training as well to try and get back (into form).

"That sort of meant that the shoulder was never getting a break and I was always just up against it, going into games never feeling good and confident in my shoulder, which was tough work.

"It was frustrating trying to navigate through and I probably was hoping that it was just going to click. But I never allowed myself the rest I needed during the season to actually give myself a chance to do that."

Murphy's candid self-assessment comes amid a wave of fresh competition for the mantle as the country's next-best long-form spinner after Lyon, who will turn 37 ahead of this summer's Border Gavaskar Trophy series.

Fellow off-spinner Corey Rocciccioli (47 wickets at 27.60) had a breakout Shield campaign, while leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson (30 wickets at 32.06) made his own case to add to his four Test caps.

And left-armer Matthew Kuhnemann, who played alongside Murphy and Lyon during last year's India tour, hopes to get back in the frame after his off-season move to Tasmania.

Murphy is now confident his dual concerns over bursae at the front of his shoulder and some tendon damage at the back of it are now under control. After medicos deemed surgery not to be necessary, he has spent the winter strengthening the joint.

Feedback from national selectors following last year's eventful Ashes campaign that they were largely pleased with how he bowled in the pressure-filled series remains fresh in the 23-year-old's mind. 

"I think they were happy with what I was able to do in England," said Murphy. "Obviously it's hard to live up to what 'Gaz' (Lyon) has done for the last 10 or so years.

"I think at the back end of that, it was just 'go back to Victoria and just keep showing us what you can do, and just make sure that if anything happens to Gaz, that you're still the next man that we pick'.

"That was the key messaging."

Murphy's major takeaway from the England series had been to stick to his strengths regardless of how opposing batters play him, a lesson learnt in the Headingley cauldron on his Ashes debut when Stokes got hold of him for a handful of sixes before he eventually dismissed the hosts’ captain.  

His six wickets in the final Test at the Oval underlined how quick a learner the Moama-born tweaker is, finishing his first burst of Test appearances with 21 victims at the enviable average of 25.42 having also gotten the better of Kohli in all four Tests in India earlier in the year.

But Murphy's ensuing struggles then came well away from the harsh spotlight of Australia's two most high-profile overseas Test tours.

"He had what just about every young player goes through," said his Victoria coach Chris Rogers. "He had to deal with injury probably for the first time in his career, playing with pain and going through a bit of a form slump last year.

"Hopefully, he's coming right out of the back of those issues. We're very hopeful he will be back to his best and if he is, he makes us such a better team.

"He was clearly frustrated with his output last year but never to the detriment of anyone else in the team or anything like that in terms of how he carried himself.

"I think the best thing about Todd is his ability to stay level-headed.

"He's just such a solid citizen that you want him in your side because you know he's going to be level, he's going to plan well, he's going to be professional, he's going to do everything he can.

"I'm certain he'll be back to his best soon and being an option for Australia at some stage."

Murphy will compete with Rocciccioli, Swepson and Kuhnemann, along with wildcards Adam Zampa and Glenn Maxwell as well as emerging allrounder Cooper Connolly, to play on Australia’s tour of Sri Lanka in early-2025 on turning pitches.

Beyond that, Australia will want a better succession plan in place than they did in 2007 following the retirement of their last great spin bowler, Shane Warne.

As Rogers put it: "Nathan Lyon seems like he could play forever. But he won't."

For now, Murphy is prepared to play the waiting game.

"That's professional cricket and nothing's ever given easy," said Murphy.

"You've got to be willing to put in that work. And I think Nathan has earnt the right to be able to play for as long as he wants to play for.

"It's just continually trying to get better for me and make sure if anything does happen to Nath, or whenever he does call time, that I'm still in a place where I'm bowling well enough and I can hopefully give the selectors what they need after that."