Murphy, 25, is in contention to play his first Test in Australia after featuring in seven matches overseas. However, there is no certainty he will be selected for Sydney, a ground usually friendly to spin, especially after he was left out of the Melbourne Test that ended in just two days.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
According to the images surfacing, the SCG pitch, ahead of the fifth Ashes Test starting Sunday, is mostly green, increasing the chance Australia will again choose an all-pace bowling attack.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI\u2019ve only seen it from afar, and my eyes aren\u2019t obviously amazing, so it\u2019s hard to pick out exactly what it\u2019ll be. But I suppose we\u2019re three days out and there\u2019s a bit of grass on it at the moment. I have no idea (what it will be like) as I haven\u2019t looked at it closely yet,\u201d Murphy told reporters at the SCG on Thursday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Murphy is very familiar with the SCG, as it is the home ground of the Sydney Sixers, and he also played there for Victoria in a Sheffield Shield match in November, where fast bowlers dominated. The off-spinner bowled 12 overs in that game and knows that a ground once known for spin now favours pace bowlers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cMaybe not recently, but I definitely think it can spin. We\u2019ve played on some BBL wickets here where it has taken spin. I\u2019ve only played a couple of Shield matches, and I don\u2019t think it\u2019s ever done anything extraordinary out there. I don\u2019t think recently that it\u2019s been a massive spin out here, but it\u2019s still been a big part.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cShield cricket over the last couple of years \u2013 which is what I\u2019ve had the main experience in \u2013 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\u2019t think spin breaks up enough in four days so they\u2019ve probably gone down the path of trying to make it speed up at the start of the game.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI still think that if you look across all games, spin still plays a massive part in games so there\u2019s always a role for you to play. It might not be on day four where you\u2019re bowling 30 overs of spin to bowl your team to victory, but it still feels like you\u2019ve always got a part to play in the game,\u201d he added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cShield cricket over the last couple of years \u2013 which is what I\u2019ve had the main experience in \u2013 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\u2019t think spin breaks up enough in four days so they\u2019ve probably gone down the path of trying to make it speed up at the start of the game.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think going into the series that there was ever a plan or an idea that spin wouldn\u2019t play a role,\u201d he replied when asked about the role of spinners this series. I think it\u2019s just been how it\u2019s eventuated. I still think there\u2019s 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,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\r\n\r\n