INTERVIEW
Follow UsFor decades now, Western Australia has been synonymous with pace — and for good reason.
Due to its inherent nature of being pacey and bouncy, the WACA has been a breeding ground for tearaway quicks. And over the years, it’s produced countless quicks for the national side.
In the last 15 years alone, Jason Behrendorff, Joel Paris, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Andrew Tye, Cameron Green, Lance Morris and Jhye Richardson have all graduated from the WA academy and played international cricket for Australia.
This trend doesn’t seem like it will stop anytime soon, with 2005-born Mahli Beardman, last month, becoming the latest Western Australian quick to get a call-up to the national side.
Such is the dominance of pace in Western Australia that for 40 years between 1983 and 2023, a speedster topped the wicket-taking charts for WA in the Sheffield Shield every single year.
But in the 2023/24 Shield season, the four-decade-long trend of pace dominance in Perth was smashed by 26-year-old off-spinner Corey Rocchiccioli, who became the first spinner since Bruce Yardley in the 1982/83 Shield season to top the wicket-taking charts for Western Australia in a season.
In the 2023/24 Shield season, Rocchiccioli bowled Western Australia to their third successive red-ball title by taking a staggering 46 wickets — the most by a Western Australian spinner in a season in 57 years and the most by any off-spinner in a Shield season in 33 years.
These absurd numbers have rightly and deservedly put Rocchiccioli on the verge of national selection for the Sri Lanka tour in January.
None of these feats, however, would have been achieved had Rocchiccioli ‘accidentally’ not become an off-spinner.
“I was always a batter who did some wicketkeeping. But the wicketkeeping didn’t take off,” Rocchiccioli tells Cricket.com in an exclusive chat.
“At my young district club — when I was playing under 13s — I was a teammate of Josh Phillipe, so I was never going to keep when he was in the side. So I was a batter who bowled some medium pace and I switched to off-spin when the medium pace became more spin-like.
“I kept bowling off-spin after that sort of to just keep myself in the game. It progressed from there but then we got to a crunch point moving district clubs, where I was forced to pick between batting and bowling.
“Luckily for me, I chose the bowling route. That’s how I started pursuing off-spin, after which I fell in love with the craft.”
In a way, Rocchiccioli is a man of contradictions. He’s half-Italian and half-Irish and he’s out there playing cricket in Australia. And he’s a Perth-born lad who is dominating the wicket-taking charts in the state by bowling off-spin. Both those things don’t make a lot of sense.
With 76 wickets and three first-class titles to his name, nobody is questioning Rocchiccioli’s decision to take up spin in Perth anymore. But he admits that there were times when he was ‘fighting against the mold’. Spinners are, after all, still a minority in Australia, let alone Perth.
“I certainly grew up around chatter that if you were a spinner in Western Australia, you were only going to play a handful of games because no one bowls spin at the WACA,” Rocchiccioli says.
“I think in my second year, I didn’t play any games at the WACA and only played at the back end of the year. So there were definitely times when I was fighting against the mold.
“I was really lucky that I played one ‘okay’ game at the WACA after which I was able to hold my spot. I’ve had some really good backing from Adam Voges and Beau Casson at the WACA and also my captains Shaun Marsh and Sam Whiteman. I think they sort of changed their opinions on off-spin, and since then I’ve been able to create a niche role for myself.”
That Rocchiccioli has been able to create a ‘niche’ role for himself in the Western Australia side is because he truly is a spinner like no other that the state has produced this entire century.
An off-spinner in the Nathan Lyon mould, Rocchiccioli is someone that relies on overspin rather than sidespin. This means that he does not really need the surface to offer turn to be effective.
Add to that his height — Rocchiccioli is over 190cm tall, which is significantly more than even Lyon — the 26-year-old becomes lethal on surfaces that offer even a teeny tiny bit of bounce. It’s what has enabled him to be ultra successful in Perth, a venue historically known for being a graveyard for spinners.
Rocchiccioli’s bowling average at the WACA of 23.9 is the second best for any spinner at the venue in history, behind Tony Lock (23.6), who played in the 1950s and 1960s.
For added context, Shane Warne averaged 36 at the WACA, while Lyon averages 40.9 there.
“I’m really lucky because I’m probably not in the mold of some of the other off-spinners who have played for WA in the last 20 years. I probably got height as an advantage so when there is bounce in the wicket for the fast bowlers, I know there’ll be purchase [bounce] in the wicket for me as well,” Rocchiccioli says.
“The amount of bounce I can get at the WACA is a big advantage for me. That’s helped me break the mold. Honestly speaking, at times, I’ve enjoyed bowling at the WACA more than I’ve enjoyed bowling at the East Coast, due to the amount of bounce and drift I can get, thanks to being a high overspin bowler.”
Rocchiccioli puts him becoming an overspin bowler down to the environment he grew up in.
“Just growing up in Western Australia, you don’t get opportunities to use sidespin. You certainly don’t get any wickets in club cricket that spin. We don’t have a history of it. The one thing we’ve got in WA, though, is bouncy wickets. We’ve also got a sea-breeze. To be able to use that sea-breeze and get drift, you’ve got to bowl overspin.
“I worked really hard with Tom Hogan at UWA (University of Western Australia) to develop overspin and, from there, Beau Casson has been amazing at WA, in terms of helping me master the craft - teaching me how to bowl overspin, getting my body in the right position to help with the repeatability and those sorts of things.”
Evolving as a bowler through Chennai camps, and the influence of Ravichandran Ashwin
Every year for the past two decades, Cricket Australia (CA) have been sending a developmental side — featuring the best prospects in the country — to the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai for a 14-day camp. The intensive camp mixes training and matches to expose the best young prospects in the country to unique challenges posed by the subcontinent.
Rocchiccioli was a part of the camp for the first time in 2023, and the two weeks out in the heat gave the 26-year-old his first taste of the subcontinent conditions. Rocchiccioli came back to Chennai once again this year, during the off-season, to hone his skills and evolve as a bowler.
He reveals that his time in Chennai enabled him to develop a ‘square seam’ delivery, which he’s since used in the Shield to very good effect.
“The one thing that stands out in India is how the game is completely different to Western Australia,” Rocchiccioli says.
“The sidespin made me develop a square seamer which I used last year in Shield cricket. It made me think more about my fields and how important my fields are and where each player needs to be. I learnt about the pace of the game, how important the square seamer is, developing that ball, using it and keep getting better at it.
“Particularly going to India has helped me bowl on the East Coast. Understood a lot about the square seam. I don’t bowl on the East Coast all that often, so my touchpoints with it become less and less.
“It’s just about trying to draw on what I learnt last year [in India] and putting it in place this year. I felt year on year I certainly bowled better.”
Rocchiccioli’s connection with Chennai, though, extends beyond just the MRF Pace Foundation. The 26-year-old is someone who idolises the bowling of Ravichandran Ashwin, and has spent hours and hours studying the footage of the veteran off-spinner from Tamil Nadu in order to improve his own bowling.
“There’s a reason why Ashwin is really good in the subcontinent. He is someone versatile throughout all over the world essentially. I’ve watched him bowl a lot, and he is also someone that uses a lot of overspin in India,” Rocchiccioli says.
“Ashwin is very good at understanding what he needs to bowl and where. He also has the range to go from square [seam] to top spin. It made me realize that I need to add some subtle variations here and there. Ashwin’s the master of it, so being able to watch a lot of his footage helped me understand how to bowl in red clay and black clay wickets.
“When it comes to Ashwin, there is a lot of footage and commentary around what he’s been doing. I’ve spent a lot of time watching all of his dismissals. There’s a package of all of his 500 wickets. I’ve watched a lot of it, I’ve spent a lot of time watching Ashwin’s bowling with Ashton Agar and discussing it.
“Even someone like Jadeja, how he packages his ability to hit the stumps consistently in India with his arm angles - I love watching them go about it. I can’t wait to watch them this summer. Particularly the way Ashwin goes about his business in Australia - he shows unbelievable versatility.”
‘Australia call-up has definitely crossed my mind, but I’m not looking too far ahead’
In many ways, Rocchiccioli couldn’t have timed his record Shield season any better given Australia, in just over three months’ time, are scheduled to tour Sri Lanka for a two-Test series part of the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) cycle.
Initial reports suggest that the Kangaroos are willing to take as many as three specialist spinners in the squad — with Glenn Maxwell being the fourth — and if that’s the case, there’s a high likelihood Rocchiccioli will waltz into the national set-up, being the highest wicket-taking spinner in the country — by a fair distance — since the start of 2022.
While Rocchiccioli admits that the prospect of a Test call-up has undoubtedly crossed his mind, the 26-year-old believes that, now more than ever, it will be important for him to stay grounded and ensure that he proves that he is ‘worthy of being on that plane’ by starting the 2024/25 Shield season on a high note.
Western Australia are scheduled to play six Shield matches till December 9, after which the squad for the Sri Lanka tour will likely be announced.
“I’m not gonna lie to you and say I haven’t thought about it [Australia call-up],” Rocchiccioli says.
“But there’s still a lot of time left and I’m playing six first-class matches [before that tour]. To be brutally frank, I’ve learnt my lessons from junior cricket. I”m not looking too far ahead. I just want to play six good FC games for WA and try and break into the one-day team.
“It’s really important for me to make sure that I’m keeping my head and feet in the ground. If I have some bad games, no one is going to talk about me, no one is going to want to do interviews.
“It’s really important that I play really well for Western Australia and try and help the team win our fourth Shield trophy in a row. So I’ve got six games to prove I’m worthy of being on that plane.”
In the scenario that he ends up getting the call-up, does Rocchiccioli feel he is ready for Test cricket?
“I don’t know if I’m ready for Test cricket because I’ve never played at that level. But I have the self-belief that if I’m given the opportunity, I can hold my own,” the off-spinner says.
“History suggests that I grow really fast and learn a lot. I’m sure if the opportunity comes up, it might take me one or two games to hit the ground running, but I’m a really good learner. Am I ready? I’m not sure. But I have the full belief that I can succeed at the highest level.”
Should Australia take three specialist spinners to Sri Lanka, Lyon will be the first individual on the plane but Rocchiccioli will be fighting with Todd Murphy, Matthew Kuhnemann, Mitchell Swepson and Ashton Agar for the other two vacant spots.
The competition is, without question, cut-throat, but due to just how much spin and spinners are thriving in the country, Rocchiccioli believes that now might just be the best ever time to be a spinner in Australia.
“I’m sure there is underlying competition and you wanna do well for yourself and the team, but whenever me and Murph [Todd Murphy] are next to each other, we have great chats. He is a lovely bloke, good human. It’s the same with even Matt Kuhnemann, Tanveer Sangha & others,” Rocchiccioli says, when asked about his friendship with the other spinners in the country, especially Murphy.
“We’re sort of the lone species in Australia [the spinners], there are only one or two of us where we live. So yes it’s healthy competition knowing that there’s only one spot available but I think now is the best time in Australian cricket to be a spinner.
“We’ve got so many spinners up and coming. There’s strong competition but it also helps grow the game and the art [of spin bowling] in the country, knowing that there are five or six really good spinners in the country.”
The influence of Voges, Casson & Agar
From making his Sheffield Shield debut in 2021 to becoming one of the best spinners in the country by 2024, Rocchiccioli’s rise has been rapid.
In his own words, there are three individuals responsible for this extraordinary rise of his.
“Adam Voges, Beau Casson and Ashton Agar I’d say are the three biggest mentors I have,” Rocchiccioli says.
Voges has been the head coach of WA since 2018 and is the man who not just handed Rocchiccioli his first-class debut but insisted on playing the 26-year-old week in and week out, even on WACA tracks that provided little assistance for spin.
“Voges is a very detailed and well-planned coach. He fills you with so much confidence, he is giving you as much information as possible because he’s done all the work [himself]. He is really good with his feedback and constantly challenges me to get better. Voges is very clear on what I need to do each game,” Rocchiccioli says.
Casson, the former Australia spinner, is the spin-bowling coach of Western Australia and has worked extensively with the young off-spinner. In fact, during the two-week camp at the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai in 2023, it was Casson who oversaw the whole thing along with Thilan Samaraweera.
“Beau [Casson] is a technical genius. He changed my technique and helped me grow. He doesn’t get the plaudits all the time but he is a guru who has really helped me. Here in Western Australia, the one thing we’ve got that not many states have is a full-time spin coach who knows what he is doing. I’m really lucky in that regard.”
And then there is Agar, who took Rocchiccioli under his wing from day one and has since been mentoring the off-spinner. Agar, though, is as much Rocchiccioli’s good mate as he is his mentor. The pair are close enough to the extent that, one fine afternoon, they spent the entire day watching footage of all Test wickets taken by Ashwin.
“Ashton Agar is one of my best mates in the squad. Unfortunately, in WA, there is only room for one spinner so we haven’t been able to play a professional game together but I won’t let him retire until that happens [laughs],” Rocchiccioli says.
“His phone is always on for me, technically he’s got a really good understanding of off-spin bowling. We talk spin, we send footage to each other, we spend a lot of hours bowling and batting and talking about what’s going on.
“I went over to his house about a month ago and we watched all of Ashwin’s Test wickets and spoke about his square seam, off-spin, side spin, all over a cup of tea.
“He’s been awesome and I’m really lucky that he’s shown me the example of how you coexist with other spinners: you look after them; you don’t talk down on them. He is certainly someone who has been very influential in my progress. I’m very lucky to have him in my cricketing life.”
Should Rocchiccioli get called up for the Sri Lanka Tests, then, there is no doubt whatsoever who will be the first three people in his cricketing circle that'll be receiving texts.
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