Despite the Sixers slumping to a five-wicket defeat, Murphy’s off-spin variety held him in good stead after spending several matches as the X-factor — a player who can be subbed into a game at any time — and ended up with figures of 0-11 off his two overs.
An ill-directed catching attempt saw an opportunity for Murphy’s maiden wicket go begging, but at an economy rate of 5.50 it’s a solid return for a BBL tweaker.
The up-and-coming 21-year-old spinner has garnered support from all over, none more so than back home.
In Echuca-Moama, the Todd Murphy Fan Club has been avidly following the star cricketer as his career jumps from one milestone to another.
Lloyd Rosenow (president), Troy Murphy (vice-president), Jamie Murphy (social director), Neil Corbett (secretary-treasurer) and Wayne O’Brien (security officer) form the nucleus of the club, as well as the Echuca branch of the Patron Saints, a supporter group of Murphy’s Premier Cricket club St Kilda.
“Five of us go down about once a month to watch him play down at Junction Oval,” Rosenow said.
“I’ve been a great mate of Jamie’s (Todd’s father) all my life and we just started to go down to see Todd play.
“All of a sudden a couple of other guys came along and we got involved with the Patron Saints down there.”
There’s no doubt in the minds of the club’s members where Murphy’s career trajectory will take him,and former Moama Cricket Club president Rosenow has high praise for the young cricketer, as well as the inside track from one of the game’s greats.
“Something special happened with Todd, for sure,” he said.
“I can smell the green and gold with him. In five or six years, I reckon he’ll be right up there as the leading contender to be the number one spinner for Australia.
“You can just see the difference in high quality players and I know what sort of opinion Nathan Lyon’s got of Todd.
“He’s just a bloody good player and what goes with it is he’s a ripper kid — just a bloody ripper.”
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