Rocchiccioli daring to dream after dominating Shield

Corey Rocchiccioli knows he doesn't have a "foot on the plane" to Sri Lanka just yet but plans to use his maiden call-up for Australia A next month to prove why he's the perfect candidate to partner Nathan Lyon on the next subcontinent Test tour.

While Australia may have a more immediate selection dilemma of who will open with Usman Khawaja against India this summer, an equally fascinating one of which off-spinner will support Lyon in Sri Lanka next February is set to play out at the same time as batters Marcus Harris, Cameron Bancroft and Sam Konstas face off against India A.

West Australian Rocchiccioli is mounting a strong challenge to overtake Todd Murphy as the nation's No.2 offie with Australia certain to name at least three spinners, if not more, in their squad for the two-Test tour.

Both will play in the 'A' series – Murphy in the first first-class match in Mackay beginning October 31 and Rocchiccioli the second at the MCG on November 7.

But it's unlikely all three tweakers heading to Sri Lanka will all be right-arm off-spinners, with Rocchiccioli and Murphy essentially jostling for one spot while a bowler who turns the ball the other way – such as Matthew Kuhnemann, Mitchell Swepson or Tanveer Sangha – battling it out for the other.

Murphy and Kuhnemann both played alongside Lyon during last year's Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in India and Swepson also has Test experience, but the uncapped Rocchiccioli has rocketed into calculations as the most prolific spinner in the Sheffield Shield over the past three seasons.

He finished last season with 46 wickets at 27 to help WA to a hat-trick of titles and has again started this summer's campaign in hot form with hauls of 4-70 and 2-32 in this week's win over Tasmania.

But the 27-year-old admits to keeping a close eye on his fellow Test finger-spinning aspirants Kuhnemann and Murphy, adding the latter bowled "beautifully" in Victoria's win over NSW at the MCG.

Rocchiccioli said he saw some of Murphy's highlights from his day two spell of 2-16, while he had a front row seat to Kuhnemann's work during WA's six-wicket victory over Tasmania.

"It's something that I know is there," Rocchiccioli said of the looming Sri Lanka series.

"I've got (three) more Shield games and the Aussie A game to prove that I'm a candidate for it.

"That means I've simply just got to bang the door down with a sledgehammer.

"'Murph' bowled beautifully, I saw some of his footage, and 'Kuhney' bowled really well out here at times.

"There's plenty of spots that are there (for Sri Lanka) but I've got to bang the door down as much as I can."

Victorian captain Will Sutherland was also singing the praises of his off-spinner following their 141-run victory over NSW, who like Rocchiccioli did at the WACA Ground, impressed in seam-friendly conditions at the MCG.

"I can clearly see the difference from last year to this year, he's just got that power back in his shoulder," said Sutherland post-match, in reference to the bursae inflammation and tendon damage Murphy played through last summer.

"He's hardly bowling bad balls. It's not exactly that conducive to spin out there and he was still able to create plenty on both sides of the bat and pick up key wickets.

"That one (wicket) of Konstas really stands out. He seems in a good place … with where his game is at with some Aussie A stuff coming up and who knows from there."

Murphy and Kuhnemann both took five-wicket hauls partnering Lyon during Australia's most recent subcontinent tour in India last year, but Rocchiccioli's body of work since breaking into WA's Shield side in 2021 (83 wickets at 30) has him firmly in contention.

With 56 of those scalps coming at the WACA Ground, Rocchiccioli has proven he can take wickets in a variety of conditions and is ready to test himself against an international opponent.

While Murphy plays the series opener against India A, the West Australian will spend time working with national men's spin coach Daniel Vettori who will be in Melbourne for first ODI against Pakistan.

The roles will then be reversed for the second Australia A match when Rocchiccioli joins the starting XI and Murphy heads to Adelaide where the second ODI is scheduled for November 8.

"I'm really excited to get that game in and experience what the MCG is like," said Rocchiccioli, who was part of the Melbourne Stars squad last season.

"I've run drinks there probably 15 to 20 times, but I've never played there.

"So I'm looking forward to playing there against India and picking the brains of some of the best pace bowlers and batters in the country in the Australian A setup."

Australia A v India A series

Australia A squad: Nathan McSweeney (c), Cameron Bancroft, Scott Boland, Jordan Buckingham, Cooper Connolly, Ollie Davies, Marcus Harris, Sam Konstas, Nathan McAndrew, Michael Neser, Todd Murphy, Fergus O’Neill, Jimmy Peirson, Josh Philippe, Corey Rocchiccioli, Mark Steketee, Beau Webster

India A squad: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Abhimanyu Easwaran (vc), Sai Sudharsan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Devdutt Padikkal, Ricky Bhui, Baba Indrajith, Ishan Kishan (wk), Abishek Porel (wk), Mukesh Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Yash Dayal, Navdeep Saini, Manav Suthar, Tanush Kotian

First first-class match: October 31-November 3: Great Barrier Reef Arena, Mackay (10am AEST)

Second first-class match: November 7-10: MCG, Melbourne (10.30am AEDT)