 "Rising Aussie star Corey Rocchiccioli to go up against KL Rahul at MCG")
As Australia gear up for one of the biggest Test series against Team India on their home turf, a particular upcoming player caught attention as he was seen bowling to some of the Aussie batters recently.
Corey Rocchiccioli, a tall off-spinner with long blonde hair, was spotted bowling with a red ball to Steven Smith and Marnus Labuschagne, even though he wasn’t part of the ODI squad. Alongside him was Australia’s bowling coach, Daniel Vettori, widely regarded as New Zealand’s greatest-ever Test spinner, offering advice on tactics and technique.
Though still an unfamiliar face to many, Rocchiccioli, 27, has caught the attention of Australian cricket with his meteoric rise from a grade cricketer with no formal pathway experience to a Sheffield Shield standout, and now an Australia A spinner. His impressive ascent has placed him firmly in contention for a spot on Australia’s Test tour of Sri Lanka in the new year. As part of his preparations, he was flown to Melbourne to work with Vettori and bowl to Smith and Labuschagne. 'It was an awesome couple of days'
"Hearing from a Test great about how to bowl off-spin, particularly in Australia and in Asia, that's something that I got really excited about," Rocchiccioli said on Wednesday.
"I had the opportunity to bowl to Smith and Marnus whilst he was standing next to me. To sort of really pick his brain on how to bowl to world-class batters was something that I took under my wing and wrote in my journal, making sure that I've got that for the back of my mind. Hopefully, it's not the last time we catch up. It was an awesome couple of days," he added.
When Rocchiccioli takes the field to make his Australia A debut at the MCG, it will be the first time the 27-year-old will get a taste of how it feels to play at the iconic ground.
"I'm really excited. I have had the opportunity to run drinks here that many times, but to not play here yet, it’s a bucket list item. I have a little photo on my phone of when I took my old man out here after a Big Bash game. I'm looking forward to being able to step out and bowl on the MCG," Rocchiccioli said on playing at the MCG. Corey will be up against the likes of KL Rahul as the batter travelled a little earlier than the team to get some match practice ahead of the Border Gavaskar Trophy.