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Why Murphy's non-selection signals a "worrying trend"
Nicholas Quinlan • January 4th, 2026 8:37 pm
With no primary spinner being selected by either Australia or England for the Fifth Ashes Test at the SCG, Simon Katich and Gerard Whateley believe that this is a significant moment for how spin bowlers are used in Australia.
Despite the two squads having full-time spinners in Australia’s Todd Murphy and England’s Shoaib Bashir, both decided against using them in their starting XI.
Murphy’s non-selection becomes even more unique considering this is the first time that Australia did not play a spinner at the SCG since 1888.
It’s now the fourth time in the last six Test matches that the hosts have not played a full-time spinner.
As a result, this has the former Australian opener concerned for what this could mean for the next generation of spin bowlers.
“It’s amazing to think that both teams are without a front-line spinner (for a Sydney Test),” Katich told SEN Cricket.
“I know in my time that would have been absolutely unheard of. But you can’t blame the selectors or Steve Smith for going down the track they have.
“Because you look at the conditions and you think, ‘Well, unless this deteriorates significantly in the next day or so, because this Test might only last three and a bit days’.
“So, it’s a really worrying sign in terms of how we are going to develop the next generation of spinners to play Test Cricket for Australia if we keep playing in conditions around the country where none of them are suitable to bowl for any length of time.
“It’s a worrying trend.”
While for Whateley, he thinks that this now forces a difficult conversation between the Test team and its selectors with the ground curators of our Test venues
“This feels like the tipping point for that discussion,” he added.
“The team is essentially saying to those who prepare grounds that you have given us circumstances where we can’t play a spinner, which is completely intolerable.
“This now escalates; we can’t just benignly sit by and let this run out.”
The action from the SCG continues tomorrow for Day 2, with England having finished Day 1 on 3/211.
SEN’s coverage of the match will begin from 8am AEDT with The New Ball before moving into its pre-match coverage for the first ball to be bowled at 10am AEDT.
