Kuhnemann has played just three Test matches for Australia so far, but his impact has been magnificent.
Australia’s star left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann once again spun a web, this time around Sri Lanka to give the Aussies a thumping win in Galle by an innings and 242 runs. Kuhnemann has played just three Test matches for Australia so far, but his impact has been magnificent.
Matthew Kuhnemann first made an impact when Australia faced India in the third Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2023 at Indore. India unleashed a raging turner in Indore and Kuhnemann obliged by picking up five wickets in the first innings. He picked up the wickets of Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Umesh Yadav to bundle India out for just 109.
Nathan Lyon and Kuhnemann both broke India’s back in tandem as the veteran off-spinner picked 11 wickets in the game including an eight-wicket haul in the second essay. Kuhnemann had to wait for a long time for his next opportunity after the series against India and the opportunity came in the first Test against Sri Lanka at Galle.
Australia posted a mammoth score of 654/6 in their first innings, thanks to a fantastic double hundred from Usman Khawaja and hundreds from Steve Smith and Josh Inglis. Sri Lanka wilted under pressure as Matthew Kuhnemann bagged figures of 5/63 in the first innings to bundle out the hosts for just 165.
Follow-on was rightly enforced and any hopes of a Lankan fightback were once again dashed by Kuhnemann. He picked up figures of 4/86 in the second essay and finished with nine wickets in the game. Such fine performances from the left-arm spinner beg the question – Is Matthew Kuhnemann ready to take the mantle from Nathan Lyon as Australia’s lead spinner?
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A bonafide legend of the game, Nathan Lyon has picked up a staggering 539 wickets in 134 Test matches and it is safe to say that Australia will need to prepare for life after Lyon given he is already 37. Lyon would be targeting playing the Ashes next summer and might look to call time on his career.
With impressive performances whenever called upon, Kuhnemann has certainly put his hat in the ring when it comes to being Nathan Lyon’s successor. He outbowled Todd Murphy and at times even Lyon during the India and Sri Lanka Tests and has shown that he has the capability to take up the mantle when asked.
Another like-for-like option that Australia have for replacing Nathan Lyon is off-spinner Corey Rocchiccioli. Rocchiccioli has played 32 first-class games in which he has picked up 95 wickets at an average of 32.40. However, he is untested at the highest level and is yet to have a call-up to the Australian senior team.
Just like Matthew Kuhnemann, Todd Murphy also got his opportunity for the first time against India in the 2023 Border Gavaskar Trophy. In the first Test in Nagpur, he picked up a seven-wicket haul and has 21 wickets in six Test matches for Australia. He also featured in the backend of the Ashes in 2023 as Nathan Lyon was ruled out with a calf injury. In terms of experience and pecking order, Murphy seems to be ahead of Rocchiccioli.
Overall, if we take impact as a parameter, Kuhnemann has surely leap-frogged his other competitors Todd Murphy and Corey Rocchiccioli. If he continues to produce performances of this stature, he might well be the first-choice spinner for Australia after the Ashes next summer.
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