Pitch sight could spoil Aussie fairytale; England great’s big Stokes fear: Ashes Daily

Todd Murphy concedes he doesn’t have the best eyesight going around, but he doesn’t need perfect vision to know that the SCG wicket is looking particularly green just three days out from the fifth Test, as the future of spin bowling in Australia again comes under the spotlight.

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Murphy, 25, is in the mix to play his first Test on home soil having played seven matches in the baggy green overseas.

But there are no guarantees he’ll play in Sydney which has traditionally suited the spinners, with Murphy missing out on the XI in Melbourne in a match that concluded within two days.

The SCG pitch is a violent shade of green ahead of the start of the fifth Ashes Test on Sunday which could see Australia go with another all-out pace attack.

“I’ve only seen it from afar, and my eyes aren’t obviously amazing so it’s hard to pick out exactly what it’ll be,” Murphy said at the ground on Thursday.

“But I suppose we’re three days out and there’s a bit of grass on it at the moment. I have no idea (what it will be like) as I haven’t looked at it closely yet.”

Murphy knows the ground well given he plays for the Sydney Sixers who call the SCG home, while he also featured in a Sheffield Shield match for Victoria back in November where pace dominated.

The bespectacled off-spinner sent down 12 overs in that match and is acutely aware the venue which traditionally favoured tweakers now suits seam.

“Maybe not recently, but I definitely think it can spin,” he said.

“We’ve played on some BBL wickets here where it has taken spin. I’ve only played a couple of Shield matches, and I don’t think it’s ever done anything extraordinary out there.

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“I don’t think recently that it’s been massive spin out here, but it’s still been a big part.

“Shield cricket over the last couple of years – which is what I’ve had the main experience in – has evolved a bit to be more seam-friendly as well.

“I think that comes from the importance of results in four-day cricket, and I don’t think spin breaks up enough in four days so they’ve probably gone down the path of trying to make it speed up at the start of the game.

“I still think that if you look across all games, spin still plays a massive part in games so there’s always a role for you to play.

“It might not be on day four where you’re bowling 30 overs of spin to bowl your team to victory, but it still feels like you’ve always got a part to play in the game.”

Spin has played a minor role in an Ashes series that has been played at breakneck speed where the quicks have taken advantage of poor techniques and wild shot selections.

Only nine wickets have been taken by the spinners, with Australian great Nathan Lyon not selected in Brisbane and going down with a hamstring injury in Adelaide where he played a more significant role.

The green decks and the bouncy conditions have led to fears that there may not be a need for spinners in Australia going forward, but Murphy – who could be the team’s main option for the next decade – isn’t worried.

He says the days of ripping through teams in the fourth innings by bowling into the rough may be numbered and that he’s had to adapt with new tactics to play a role in the side.

“I don’t think going into the series that there was ever a plan or an idea that spin wouldn’t play a role,” he replied when asked about the role of spinners this series.

“I think it’s just been how it’s eventuated. I still think there’s definitely a role to play for spin, and I think it will evolve from year to year, and next year it could be different.

“I still think it (spin) is important.”

PONTING’S CHALLENGE FOR ‘NERVOUS’ GREEN

Meanwhile, Ricky Ponting has revealed the biggest flaws in Cameron Green and Marnus Labuschagne’s games ahead of what shapes as a crucial fifth Ashes Test for the pair.

Green in particular is under pressure after another underwhelming showing with the bat in Melbourne, where he was run out for 17 in the first innings and then caught for 19 in the second.

While Green’s scintillating Shield form has always suggested he is capable of taking the next step, he has an average of just 32.25 at the Test level and even if he still has enormous potential at just 26 years old, patience is starting to wear thin.

The constant moving around in the batting order hasn’t helped either according to Ponting, who said on SEN Radio that Green looks a “very nervous starter” at the moment.

“Everything I’ve ever heard around the Australian camp about Cameron Green is just how good they all think he is and could potentially be, but he’s got to start working it out,” Ponting said.

“He’s got to find a method and a tempo, especially with his batting, in Test cricket that’s going to work for him.

“They’ve moved him from three to five to seven, he’s been all over the place… he’s a very nervous starter, he’s very stiff and very rigid, and being a big, tall man like he is, it probably doesn’t make it any easier.

“There’s some challenges there for him. He’s got to work it out pretty quickly.”

Ponting also singled out Labuschagne as another Australian batter under pressure ahead of the SCG Test, with the 31-year-old mixing two half-centuries against England with six scores under 20 in this year’s Ashes.

“I still believe there’s a lot of technical flaws he’s got going on at the moment,” Ponting said.

“When Marnus is at his best, he makes batting look relatively easy, but when he’s at his worst, he makes batting look really, really difficult. The last few weeks, he’s made batting look difficult.

“There’s definitely a question mark over him… July 2023 was his last Test hundred, that average has dropped dramatically during that period of time.”

BROAD’S ‘DOMINO EFFECT’ FEAR FOR ENGLAND

In other news, Stuart Broad has warned that dismissing ECB managing director Rob Key would spark a “domino effect” that could see major changes to England’s leadership.

While England restored some pride with a victory in the fourth Test, a review into the team’s performance is already underway given the manner in which the series ended prior.

It means senior England figures, headlined by Key, coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes, will come under the spotlight.

Broad backed Stokes in as skipper on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast, declaring he is “100 per cent” the leader England needs.

But he expressed his concern that if Key was to be removed as part of the review into this year’s series defeat, McCullum and Stokes could soon follow him out the door.

“I’m concerned of a domino effect if Rob Key loses his position, then Baz would say, ‘Well, I don’t need the job, he gave me the job, I’m going’. And then Stokes would go, ‘Well, if Baz is my man, I’m then going’. I’ve been nervous of that,” Broad said.

Broad went on to concede that there has to be “conversations” given the way England crumbled in the first three Tests, but added that he believes all three should keep their job.

“There will have to be conversations of the preparation and the planning and the selection because, ultimately, we’ve lost the Ashes 3-0 after three games against a team that you feel like were pretty beatable,” Broad said.

“But for me, I feel they should continue. They’ve given Baz the white-ball contract as well to the end of the 2027 World Cup, so they should honour that.

“I would remain patient with everyone in their positions at this moment in time, regardless of the result in Sydney.”