Australia mull over spin question as Todd Murphy enters mix with plenty to play for

Off-spinner not guaranteed spot in XI but may have key role against a side that will try to clear the boundaryIt would really be something. A Victorian spin bowler – one from St Kilda Cricket Club, no less – walking out on Boxing Day to play an Ashes Test in the shadow of the Shane Warne Stand at the MCG. Todd Murphy is not much like Warne in most respects: quiet, modest, thoughtful, bespectacled, a student of the even tempered practice of off-spin bowling rather than the lavish excess of leg-spin. But still. The links that do exist are too appealing to ignore.Not that Murphy is guaranteed to play the fourth Test in place of the injured Nathan Lyon, with Australia’s coach, Andrew McDonald, prevaricating about whether to pick four frontline fast bowlers plus an all-round seamer in Cameron Green or Beau Webster. But in picking him as the lone option in the squad, Australia have already given their spinner more positive feedback than Shoaib Bashir has received from England, who have repeatedly referred to him as their No 1 choice while leaving him on the bench for all four Tests so far. Continue reading...