But the off-spinner revealed this opportunity may not have come about if he had not listened to advice from former Victorian leggie Craig Howard.
“Yeah, so until I was 16, 17, I bowled medium pace — very medium pace,’’ Murphy told the Herald Sun.
“I always enjoyed bowling off-spin in the nets at training but never really took it too seriously. When I made the move from Moama to Sandhurst, I did a session with Craig before the season started. I bowled some off-spin and he thought there was a bit there to work with. He said, ‘Let’s get rid of your medium pace and stick with spin’.
“From there I kept working at it, gradually picked it up. Yeah, it’s the best thing I’ve ever done, that’s for sure. Definitely a good move for my cricket.’’
Murphy knows he is far from a polished product and that's why he continues to study the best players to improve his own game.
“Yeah, I think that’s the biggest thing for a spinner, you need to be able to turn the ball,’’ he said.
“The message I got from Craig is to try to spin it hard but also get as much overspin as I can, to help with the bounce and that sort of thing. I look at Nathan Lyon, as every off-spinner would, and you try to replicate that as best you can with the hard over-spun ball.
“You obviously play around with your variations but try to keep it as simple as you can and get into the contest and work batsmen out.’’
Murphy enjoyed a breakout season with St Kilda in Victorian Premier Cricket, taking 33 wickets across all forms of the game.
His form didn't go unnoticed, as he earned selection in Australia's under-19 World Cup team for the tournament held in South Africa earlier this year.
The teenager said playing A-grade cricket in his home town from a young age had played a significant role in his development.
“Playing at the age of 14 or 15 years in A-grade cricket back home, you sort of get used to the competitiveness of playing against men. You don’t get that when you’re just playing junior cricket,’’ he said.
“I’ve always been comfortable enough to back myself in against older guys.’’
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