\u201cI had noticed a couple of things and sent him a couple of screenshots saying, \u2018How are you going?\u2019\u201d Howard told SEN Radio before the Boxing Day Test.<\/p>\n
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Murphy celebrates a wicket during his maiden Test tour of India in 2023.Credit: AP<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen he got back [from the UK] he jumped in the car and came up to Bendigo. He organised it and said, \u2018Can we have a look?\u2019<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe just had to work through a few things to get [his action] looking [better]\u2026 and by the end of the session he was back curving and dropping [the ball] with real force and energy. Which is probably what he was lacking there.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know if it was compensation for his shoulder. Sometimes little things just creep in [to your technique]. He\u2019d just gotten into some action positions that he wasn\u2019t sure how to get out of.\u201d<\/p>\n
Murphy on Thursday acknowledged the \u201clittle technical changes\u201d in his game as he pointed to the shift in his role for Victoria that he believes can be replicated at Test level.<\/p>\n
Murphy\u2019s 10 wickets at 23 this summer for Victoria have come on seam-friendly wickets. \u201c[And] I\u2019ve learnt [as a spinner] your job\u2019s not always to come on and take wickets,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt might be to play a holding role for four or five overs for the quicks so they can have a break and then come back. And that can be just as important.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou look across all games and spin still plays a massive part\u2026 It might just not be the \u2018day four and bowling 30 overs to spin your team to victory\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think going into the [Ashes] series there was ever that planning or idea that spin wouldn\u2019t play a role. I think it\u2019s sort of just been how it\u2019s eventuated.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s definitely a role to play for spin and I think it\u2019ll evolve from year to year.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Steve Waugh poses with the crystal Ashes trophy ahead of the 2025-26 series.Credit: Getty Images<\/p>\n
Waugh to present the Ashes trophy to Cummins, Smith<\/p>\n
Daniel Brettig<\/p>\n
Steve Waugh is set to present the Ashes trophy to Australia\u2019s captains Steve Smith and Pat Cummins at the end of the SCG Test.<\/p>\n
A year after Allan Border handed over the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to Cummins, it will be Waugh\u2019s job to give the Australians the Ashes \u2013 meaning they will remain in Australian hands for a decade by the time the next series takes place in England in 2027.<\/p>\n
At the start of the game, it will fall to David Warner and Stuart Broad to carry the trophy onto the ground for the pre-match ceremonies.<\/p>\n
Cricket Australia was contacted for comment.<\/p>\n
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Pat Cummins won\u2019t be playing in the Sydney Test, but will be there to accept the trophy from Waugh at its conclusion.Credit: Getty Images<\/p>\n
While Waugh declined an interview request with this masthead, he had plenty to say in November when handpicked to fly the trophy into the SCG in a helicopter.<\/p>\n
In particular, Waugh was critical of what he saw as a lack of regeneration in the team that went on ro retain the urn in the space of just 11 days.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d like to see the selectors pick the sides, not the players,\u201d Waugh said.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThere\u2019s been a lot of players recently picking sides and saying who should be in the team. That\u2019s the selectors\u2019 job.<\/p>\n
\u201cGeorge Bailey\u2019s going to have to make some tough calls. I think in the past he\u2019s shown he hasn\u2019t really had the appetite for that at times, so he\u2019s going to have to step up to the plate with the other selectors.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bowlers are in their 30s and some of the batsmen are getting on as well. That\u2019s natural for every team. You just want to make sure that three or four players don\u2019t go out at the same time. That leaves a big hole in the team. So they\u2019ve got to just make sure that it is a transition, but not all at once.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those spiky comments stood in contrast to what has largely been a stronger series for relationships between Australia\u2019s current side and the greats of past eras.<\/p>\n
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Fox Cricket and Kayo commentator Michael Vaughan \u2013 a former Ashes-winning England skipper \u2013 has some fun with the crowd.Credit: Getty Images<\/p>\n
After Australia sealed the series at Adelaide Oval, Cummins invited all former Australian players at the ground \u2013 most of them working in the commentary boxes \u2013 to join the team for a celebratory beer in the dressing room.<\/p>\n
Another facet of these relationships has been how, in the majority of cases, Australian players have shaken hands with the past players chosen to bring the Ashes trophy onto the field before each Test. Justin Langer, Brett Lee, Jason Gillespie and Merv Hughes have been the Australian past players to do that job this series, while Alastair Cook, Matt Prior, Michael Vaughan and Sir Ian Botham have done so for England.<\/p>\n
In the case of the visiting team, those spontaneous handshakes have been notably absent from proceedings.<\/p>\n
Waugh, by the way, made a couple of predictions before the series \u2013 and one has stood up well.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the best fielding side will win the Ashes this year, so catching will be really important,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s going to be one of the best Ashes series we\u2019ve seen in a long, long time.\u201d<\/p>\n