Leeds, July 8 Australia's young off-spinner Todd Murphy said bowling to England captain Ben Stokes in the first innings of the ongoing third Ashes Test at Leeds was really challenging, especially with the left-handed batter being in a rampaging mood.
Playing in his debut Ashes Test after veteran off-spinner Nathan Lyon was ruled out of the series due to a significant right calf strain, Murphy was carted for five sixes by Stokes, but the youngster had the last laugh by getting him out for 80 in an attempt to hit his sixth maximum.
"It was really exciting to be out there. Growing up, that is where every cricketer aspires to be. There were definitely some nerves at the start - it was nice to just get into the game and go from there. To bowl to Ben in that sort of mood, it was really challenging. You knew what he was trying to do - he wanted to hit it for six," said Murphy to Sky Sports.
With rain forcing teams to go for early lunch on day three, Murphy’s role will come into focus once Australia resume their innings from 116/4 and set a target for England. Former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara thinks Murphy will have a huge role to play in terms of taking wickets and holding one end for Australia.
"Murphy reminds me a little bit of Graeme Swann. The way he loads up, the amount of revs he gets on the ball. He is a very good spinner. He will extract turn and find bounce so will have a big role to play, not just in holding an end but also taking wickets," he added.
Michael Atherton, the former England captain, is not expecting Stokes to bowl whenever play resumes, citing the injury he picked up while batting in the first innings. "When he walked to the car park last night he looked very weary and was limping quite badly. He is clearly not 100 per cent fit."
"But when you get out there with 20,000 fans screaming, you get caught up in the adrenaline and can put injuries to the back of your mind. That is something Stokes does better than most - but I don’t expect we will see him bowling."
Atherton also feels that though the advantage is on England’s side, they would like for the chase to be below 300. "I think I would rather be in England’s camp -– just. England need to break the Travis Head-Mitchell Marsh partnership quickly this morning but with Mark Wood in the ranks you think they could blow away the tail."
"Recent history at Headingley suggests it is a good place to chase but this pitch is a bit drier and there are signs that it is starting to deteriorate a little bit, as it should do as you go through a game. You wouldn’t want to be chasing 300."
--IANS
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