Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Jamie Murphy relishes son Todd’s fifer on debut

Jamie Murphy said that Todd was not afraid of a challenge and was not scared of facing a big name like Virat Kohli.

Published : Feb 10, 2023 21:42 IST , NAGPUR

Jamie Murphy at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium for the first India vs Australia Test match.
Jamie Murphy at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium for the first India vs Australia Test match. | Photo Credit: Amol Karhadkar
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Jamie Murphy at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium for the first India vs Australia Test match. | Photo Credit: Amol Karhadkar

Having had a certain Shane Warne as his teammate a little over three decades ago for St. Kilda, the famous Melbourne club, Jamie Murphy knows more than a thing or two about spin bowling.

So when Craig Howard, a bowling coach, saw Jamie’s teenaged son Todd rolling him arm over as an offspinner in 2016 and insisted he should stick to it, Jamie went by his word. Until then, his father-cum-coach considered Todd as a batter who also bowled medium-pace.

Cut to Friday, the ‘convert’ offspinner, with just seven First Class caps to his name before being selected for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, became Australia’s second-youngest debutant to pick a five-wicket haul. It came as icing on the cake for the Murphy household, which had earlier relished the moment when Todd was presented with the Baggy Green on Thursday.

“He has got an attitude where he is never beaten. He is happy to bowl the hardest over to the best batsmen. That’s why he wasn’t too worried about bowling to (Virat) Kohli. He looked like he was enjoying it and he took the challenge,” Jamie told Sportstar, minutes after Kohli became Murphy’s fourth victim.

“He is very well-liked by his teammates and the gets along with everybody. He has a lot of empathy for a lot of people. He sort of gets in and gets liked by everybody.”

Hailing from countryside in Victoria, the Murphy household used to drive down to Melbourne - a three-hour one-way drive - regularly for Todd’s training and games during his formative years.

Todd, who addressed his first media conference after stumps on Friday, underlined how important it was for him to have his family along with his partner Bec travel to India at a short notice.

“To have them here is special. It was a pretty hectic couple of days to try and get them across. They have been a part of this journey the whole way for me,” he said.

“Being from country Victoria, we have spent hours in the car, and they have all put in the time to give me this opportunity so to share the week with them is special. They’re enjoying themselves.”

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