Former Australia National Cricket Team captain Tim Paine has admitted Todd Murphy is a “very, very good” offside. However, Paine said the 22-year-old is not the next Nathan Lyon.
Murphy, the spinner from Victoria, has so far represented the Aussies in 4 Test matches. He made his debut earlier this year in an away series against India. In the four matches against Rohit Sharma & Co., he bagged 14 wickets with a best bowling figures of 7/124.
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Murphy will replace Nathan Lyon in Australia’s playing XI for the remainder of Ashes 2023. Notably, veteran Lyon spinner has been ruled out of the entire series with a calf injury.
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During an interaction on SEN Breakfast, Tim Paine shared his views on the young Todd Murphy. He too praised Lyon and labeled him one of the greatest bowlers of all time.
“I think it is, absolutely. Not having Garry (Lyon) is sad. It’s lovely to see Garry do it all, he’s one of the greatest bowlers of all time, but what we have is a little prodigy coming up,” Paine said.
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I’m not going to say he’s the next Nathan Lyon – Tim Paine over Todd Murphy
The 38-year-old said he couldn’t compare Murphy to Lyon, but added that the youngster has a great temperament.
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“I’m not going to say he’s the next Nathan Lyon, but he’s very, very good. I’ve played against him a bit and seen him around, he’s the kind of youngster I find in terms of temperament, he’s not going to get beaten up.”
Paine expects Murphy to step up and deliver strong performances for Australia in Nathan Lyon’s absence.
“I think it will go right into that. I think she loves it. He is very intelligent. He has an old head on his body for a young guy and I think he will handle the big occasion mentally very well and I think skill-wise we saw him in India. He has the skills to play at this level and I think he will do a good job,” he explained.
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Meanwhile, Australia took a 2-0 series lead after posting back-to-back wins. They will seek to seal the series in the third Test. The third test will be played from July 6 to 10 at the Headingley in Leeds.
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