{"id":391958,"date":"2026-01-04T23:07:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-04T23:07:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/391958\/"},"modified":"2026-01-04T23:07:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-04T23:07:09","slug":"mitch-swepson-hits-out-at-non-selection-of-todd-murphy-says-being-a-spin-bowlers-sucks-with-current-pitches-cricket-australia-and-curators-melbourne-stars-reaction-latest-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/391958\/","title":{"rendered":"Mitch Swepson hits out at non-selection of Todd Murphy, says being a spin bowlers sucks with current pitches, Cricket Australia and curators, Melbourne Stars, reaction, latest news"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Four-Test Australian leg-spinner Mitch Swepson refuses to be measured in his response to the country\u2019s spin predicament.<\/p>\n<p>Australia opting against a spinner is increasingly common, in fact, it\u2019s the fourth time in six Tests the selectors have overlooked a slow-bowling option.<\/p>\n<p>Watch The Ashes 2025\/26 LIVE and ad-break free during play with FOX CRICKET on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? <a href=\"https:\/\/kayosports.com.au?pg=cricket&amp;extcamp=fsaeditoriallinkcricket-edt-fsp-lnk-awr-grc-cri-kyo&amp;channel=fsa&amp;campaign=fsacontra&amp;voucher=\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"i-amphtml-fill-content i-amphtml-replaced-content\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/poster-fallback.png\"\/><\/p>\n<p>But the decision to neglect Todd Murphy in the fifth Ashes Test at the once spin-friendly SCG stung the \u201cspin brotherhood\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Swepson was asked to assess the decision and playfully encouraged to answer the question carefully \u2013 but it was one he happily took on.<\/p>\n<p>TALKING PTS: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com.au\/cricket\/ashes-2026-australia-vs-england-5th-test-day-1-talking-points-analysis-scg-new-years-test-no-spinner-sparks-fears-for-australias-future-video-highlights\/news-story\/a043f262448038e263d91d86008dfd05\" title=\"www.foxsports.com.au\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Warning for cricket\u2019s future after spin gamble; Pom\u2019s 76-yr worst<\/a><\/p>\n<p>DAY 2 LIVE:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com.au\/cricket\/the-ashes\/ashes-2026-australia-vs-england-fifth-test-live-day-2-updates-and-scorecard-video-highlights-session-times-blog-latest-news\/news-story\/4a8019f4f3ac9f0f4b068f1d7eda921e\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Fans fuming as cricket\u2019s literal \u2018daylight robbery\u2019 strikes again<\/a><\/p>\n<p>MATCH CENTRE:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com.au\/cricket\/match-centre\/TEST2025-260605\" title=\"www.foxsports.com.au\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Australia vs England fifth Ashes Test live scorecard<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Heroes saluted ahead of SCG Test | 02:12<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt sucks, mate. I won\u2019t be careful, it sucks,\u201d Swepson said after playing for the Melbourne Stars on Sunday night.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBeing a spin bowler I am obviously bias but I think we\u2019ve seen it for a while now, seen it coming in (Sheffield) Shield cricket.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe see less and less spin bowlers coming into games, particularly in certain parts of the country and I think that\u2019s what we\u2019re now seeing in the Test arena.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou see greener wickets, you see seam be the main source of wickets and it\u2019s such a shame because I think there\u2019s a really good piece there, a spot for spin bowling in Test cricket.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn other parts of the world it\u2019s massive, it\u2019s something I grew up on, watching Shane Warne around the wicket into pizzas (footmarks) at the SCG.<\/p>\n<p>Todd Murphy (left) of Australia watches on during an Australia nets session at Melbourne Cricket Ground on December 25, 2025 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Morgan Hancock\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2026It would be nice to bring that back but the way it\u2019s going, at the moment, it looks like we\u2019re going further and further away from that with the wickets we\u2019re producing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI feel for Todd, he\u2019s a great bowler \u2026 I am definitely a part of the spin brotherhood, I\u2019d love to see it come back.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Swepson says the reason behind a nationwide change in wickets is \u201cthe golden question\u201d but suspects it could be to cut out the tedious draw.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think for me, we\u2019re too worried about the wickets flattening out and getting no results than we are it being a two-day Test or Shield game,\u201d Swepson said. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt feels like we\u2019d rather that and have a result than it be flat and deteriorate.<\/p>\n<p>Uzzie reflects on the SCG and family | 03:45<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTalking to the older guys in Shield cricket, talking guys like \u2018Uzzie\u2019 (Usman Khawaja) that have been playing Shield cricket for a long time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey talk about batting for two days on an absolute road and then all of a sudden you\u2019ve got chunks coming out of the wicket, really starting to rag.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI couldn\u2019t tell you the last time I played a Shield game like that so it\u2019s a real shame, I\u2019d love to see it come back that way.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut somewhere in the country has to be prepared to do that and make those sort of wickets, and I don\u2019t know who is going to do that first, or whether it\u2019s a CA thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Swepson played each of his four Test matches in 2022 with the last coming against Sri Lanka in Galle.<\/p>\n<p>He vows to continue chasing international opportunities, even with the obstacles now facing spinners.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlways, mate, always,\u201d Swepson said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile I am strapping these boots on, I am always wanting to play for Australia \u2013 every cricketer should have that goal, I feel like.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s all formats, I am always trying my best, I\u2019d love to get back in the green and gold or in the baggy green but it is what it is.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve got to keep trying to perform for the Stars and for Queensland, and we\u2019ll see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Four-Test Australian leg-spinner Mitch Swepson refuses to be measured in his response to the country\u2019s spin predicament. Australia&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":391959,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,85,41,39,42,40],"class_list":{"0":"post-391958","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-top-news","12":"tag-top-stories","13":"tag-topnews","14":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=391958"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391958\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/391959"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=391958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=391958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=391958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}