Not by pace, not by banter, and certainly not by the idea of rolling her arm over at a team full of men.
On Saturday, the Invergordon Cricket Club fill-in produced a spell that left Karramomus batters bamboozled, taking 6-29 off seven overs.
The kicker? It should’ve been seven.
“She came down on Saturday to fill in for us once again, took the rock and knocked over six wickets,” Invergordon president and player Billy Bagley said.
“It should have been seven but Trav, her brother, dropped a catch.
“She’s probably pretty modest in that side of things but we all made sure he knew about it - and a fair bit of the crowd did too so that was pretty funny.”
Murdoch’s salivating figures are nothing to be sneezed at, but an extra wicket to the tally is always welcome.
So, did she give her brother much grief after dropping the catch?
“Look, not much because I got a wicket like two balls later,” she said nonchalantly.
It was officially her best-ever return with the ball — the culmination of a cricket journey that began two decades ago in Northerners’ under-15 D-grade, winding through Shepparton Youth Club United and Clifton Hill, where she cut her teeth in men’s comps before settling at Youlden Parkville.
Now, every so often, she’ll cruise up the Hume to help out the Hawks — a side stacked with players her dad Ken once coached.
“I just kind of fill in for them when they’re short - they have very funny chat in the field for sure,” she said.
“I probably play the same but in terms of bowling it seems to go better against the men.
“I’m not sure why, I think it maybe because they get more nicks and to be honest, the boys are probably better at holding catches than women do.”
Though a humble Murdoch said she “got kind of lucky” during Saturday’s five-wicket win over the Bloods, the results suggest otherwise.
Most of her wickets came via edges — and Bagley had the best seat in the house.
“Two of them were to me, I was wicket-keeping, and a couple were caught at gully,” he said.
“She was just bowling a good line and length and they were snicking off.”
Murdoch’s cameo came at a perfect time during Women's Cricket Week (October 16-22), serving as a sharp reminder of what female players can do when handed the new ball — or any ball, really.
It also provided the Hawks with enough players to get on the park.
And it’s not the first time, either.
As Bagley pointed out, Invergordon has become thin on numbers in recent years, yet the proud one-team club from a town of 600 has punched above its weight, winning three C-grade premierships and a T20 flag this decade alone.
But to keep the Hawks going, they often rely on last minute call-ins from players like Murdoch.
“It’s always a bit tougher at the start of the season and everyone’s got footy or sport hanging over, and they’re enjoying having a break, especially around Spring Carnival season,” Bagley said.
“But we’ll be right, we always make do and pull a few players from here and there to help us out.
“We’ll pull it together in the later part of the season and have a crack at finals, hopefully.”
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