In Australia A’s five-game tour of the subcontinent, Murphy played in two Test matches in Lucknow and two one-day internationals in Kanpur, putting up impressive results with both bat and ball.
In the first drawn Test, the Moama native wasn’t required with the bat but put the leg work in with the ball, bowling 35 overs and recording figures of 0-102.
The second Test was where the Victorian off-spinner shined, hammering 76 runs batting at number 10 in the first innings and 12 in the second innings before taking five wickets across his two stints with the ball.
The first ODI saw Murphy take 1-47 and score three runs, missing the second game before returning to the side and taking 4-42 in a loss to India to round out the tour.
Upon his return, Murphy was picked up by Victoria’s one-day side in its loss to South Australia.
Unfortunately, he didn’t take any wickets in the match, settling for 0-41 from his 10 overs and scoring a pair of runs off five deliveries in the second innings.
Victoria still has four more games to go in the tournament through until Feburary 21, with Murphy expected to feature in those games while juggling his Big Bash League commitments with the Sydney Sixers and the Victorian Sheffield Shield side over the summer.
Speaking of the Sheffield Shield, Murphy missed the opening round of the competition, but is in the playing XI for the second match that is ongoing against NSW, scoring 31 at number 10 in Victoria’s first innings.
While Murphy is unlikely to feature in any of the five Ashes Tests at home this summer after losing his Cricket Australia contract, he is still locked in a battle with Matthew Kuhnemann and Corey Rocchiccioli to succeed Nathan Lyon as Australia’s premier spinner upon his retirement.
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