WA off-spinner joins Todd Murphy and Matt Kuhnemann as tweakers pushing their Test cases in the UK this winter
Corey Rocchiccioli is the latest fringe Australian spinner set to turn out in the County Championship this year after the Western Australian won a short-term deal with Warwickshire.
Rocchiccioli, the Sheffield Shield’s leading spinner for the past two seasons, will make his county debut as he turns out for the Division Two club for four games through June and July, a stint that will coincide with the County Championship’s experiment with Kookaburra balls.
The 27-year-old joins fellow off-spinner Todd Murphy (on a four-game contract with Gloucestershire) and Test squad member Matthew Kuhnemann (who played one game for Glamorgan in May) as spinners developing their long-form skills in the United Kingdom this winter.
All three are pushing to be Nathan Lyon’s long-term Test successor.
Rocchiccioli, on paper, would appear the furthest back in the queue as the only one among the trio not to have played international cricket.
Kuhnemann is Lyon’s sidekick for the upcoming Caribbean tour, while Murphy played alongside that pair during this year’s first Test in Sri Lanka, as well as two Tests on the 2023 Ashes tour after Lyon’s calf injury.
But the rangy Rocchiccioli’s supreme record over the past two Shield summers, snaring 89 wickets in 22 first-class matches for WA and Australia A and thriving on bouncy home pitches in Perth in particular, has him right in the frame.
The right-armer will have two matches at Warwickshire’s home ground Edgbaston, the venue for the 2027 Ashes series opener, while also travelling to Essex and Sussex for away fixtures.
He is the second Australian to represent the club this year after Beau Webster featured earlier this northern summer.
“I’m really excited to play at a prestigious club like Warwickshire,” said Rocchiccioli.
“I’m really excited to learn and grow in English conditions and hopefully contribute to some strong wins along the way.”
Kookaburra balls, rather than the Dukes, are being used as part of an ECB trial that is into its second season. Rocchiccioli’s first match will be against Somerset at home.
Warwickshire coach Ian Westwood said: “(Rocchiccioli) is a proven performer in Sheffield Shield cricket, and with his experience of the Kookaburra ball, we know he will make an impact for us.
“He will add some serious quality and depth to us.”
Australians in County Cricket for 2025
Derbyshire: Caleb Jewell
Durham: Brendan Doggett (April-May)
Essex: Maddie Penna (T20 Blast only)
Glamorgan: Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Hayden Kerr (T20 Blast)
Gloucestershire: Cameron Bancroft, Cameron Green (April-May), D’Arcy Short (T20 Blast), Todd Murphy (June-July)
Hampshire: Ellyse Perry (July), Charli Knott (April-July), Jack Edwards (April-May)
Kent: Wes Agar, Tom Rogers (T20 Blast only)
Lancashire: Chris Green (June-July), Marcus Harris, Ashton Turner (June-July), Alana King (June-July), Katie Mack (April-June)
Leicestershire: Peter Handscomb
Northamptonshire: Lloyd Pope (T20 Blast only), Liam Guthrie (local player), Harry Conway (May)
Nottinghamshire: Moises Henriques (T20 Blast only), Fergus O’Neill (until April 28), Daniel Sams (T20 Blast only), Heather Graham (May-July)
Somerset: Riley Meredith, Amanda-Jade Wellington
Surrey: Grace Harris (T20 Blast only), Kurtis Patterson (May)
Sussex: Daniel Hughes, Nathan McAndrew (June-July), Gurinder Sandhu (June-July)
Warwickshire: Beau Webster, Corey Rocchiccioli (June-July), Laura Harris (T20 Blast)
Worcestershire: Ben Dwarshuis (T20 Blast only)
Yorkshire: Will Sutherland (T20 Blast + 2 County), Jordan Buckingham (four matches in May)
