Impressive Rocchiccioli eager to learn from Lyon as he seeks to master a hard craft

Indicative of his indefatigable approach to bowling, offspinner Corey Rocchiccioli does not like being idle.

Immediately after Western Australia's upcoming Sheffield Shield match against New South Wales, he'll be taking an exam as part of his masters degree in business administration. "I'll be studying in between play," Rocchiccioli told ESPNcricinfo.

During a recent Shield match in Adelaide, Rocchiccioli submitted a group assignment after day three.

"I don't find it all that difficult [combining study and cricket]. My brain wants me to do things all the time," he said. "They [classmates] don't really follow cricket, which is good. It gives me an outlet to switch off."

The 26-year-old Rocchiccioli has started getting used to juggling these demands after emerging from obscurity to become a key part of WA's two-time Shield-winning attack. Rocchiccioli has defied the spinner's graveyard of the WACA by utilising his 6 foot 3 [1.9m] frame to generate awkward bounce, and he can deceive batters through canny drift.

He did not come through WA's strong pathway program, but Rocchiccioli's continual rise and strong start to the Shield season has generated national attention.

Rocchiccioli enjoyed a breakout season last year taking 25 wickets at 32.2 from 10 matches. The only match he missed was against Queensland at the Gabba when he made way for left-arm spinner Ashton Agar, who at the time was on the Test fringes. Rocchiccioli had only taken five wickets in four first-class matches previously.

"I felt like it [last season] gave me a stepping stone and the confidence to stack 10 games together," he said.

After WA's title defence was complete, Rocchiccioli, typically, was itching to keep improving. During his season exit interview with WA coaches Adam Voges and Beau Casson, Rocchiccioli knew what he needed to do to get better.

"Clean up my action and make it more repeatable, address run-up issues and have a better topspinner," he told Voges and Casson.

Once he recovered from finger surgery, Rocchiccioli's off-season went mostly as expected. "I tried to bowl and bowl," he said. "There was a lot of bowling at stumps and had the cones out to help smooth my run-up. It was pretty mundane, but I didn't really get bored with the basics.

"I just kept working on the fundamentals. I tried to be really disciplined in every session and more purposeful in my training."

Rocchiccioli trained with Casson and Agar, his close mate and mentor who he ironically might push to the outer in Shield cricket. Not yet on the globe-trotting cricket circuit, Rocchiccioli's opportunity to test himself arrived in August when he was part of a Casson-led youth squad to the MRF Academy in India.

It was Rocchiccioli's first cricket tour abroad and an initiation into bowling to emerging Indian batters intent on taking the long handle to spinners. Conditions, despite the country's reputation, weren't entirely spin-friendly.

"The one-day game was like bowling on glass," Rocchiccioli said. But he was happier with the T20 and two-day red-ball games played on rank turners.

"Indian batters play the game vastly differently from Australians. They're willing to take a lot of risks. It's a boundary game over there. As a spinner, you have an in-out field, but that's still seen as attacking unlike in Australia.

"In India that [field] is actually an attacking option to block the boundary options of batters and make them defend a little bit more which brings me into the game.

"There are touchpoints [from India] I look to when I'm playing Shield cricket."

In India, he practiced bowling square seam and unleashed his improved topspinner to varying degrees of success. But Rocchiccioli's growing repertoire and increased confidence have been evident in the early stages of this Shield season, yielding 15 wickets at an average of 23.

In his first couple of seasons, especially at the pace-friendly WACA, Rocchiccioli's role was to primarily tie down batters while providing valuable rest for WA's star-studded quicks. But this season he has been utilised more as an attacking weapon, a testament to his ability to generate more overspin. Rocchiccioli has also become something of a problem-solver for WA captain Sam Whiteman when the chips are down.

With national selector Tony Dodemaide watching from the terraces, Rocchiccioli completely outbowled Test offspinner Todd Murphy in WA's innings victory over Victoria in the season opener at the WACA. Rocchiccioli finished with the remarkable match figures of 6 for 53 from 42.2 overs, while Murphy struggled with 1 for 141 from 32 overs.

Against Tasmania, on a particularly flat surface that some long-time WACA observers believed was the most sedate pitch at the ground since the dull New Zealand Test in 2015, Rocchiccioli came into the attack 10 overs into day one and shortly after dismissed opener Tim Ward.

"The earlier the ball gets in my hands, the better. I like to think I'm a really good competitor," he said. "The team is encouraging and supporting me to be that x-factor we haven't had in the last couple of decades. The really exciting thing is that I'm trusted."

Rocchiccioli almost inspired an unlikely victory late on day four as he targeted the rough to particularly trouble Tasmania's left-handed batters, including dismissing Matthew Wade lbw.

"For Corey, it's very much about staying in the game as long as he can. He's learning more about his craft," Voges told ESPNcricinfo during the Tasmania match, which ended in a draw.

"His consistency and confidence has grown from the opportunities he's had in the last couple of years. For Sam [Whiteman] to have confidence to go to him early [after 10 overs] tells you a lot about the confidence we have in Corey."

Rocchiccioli aims this season to improve in the different east coast conditions, particularly adjusting to vagaries such as wind speeds while managing expectations.

"I think as a WA spinner you can fall into the trap of thinking you're not playing a part in Perth, but then go to the east coast expecting to do all the work," he said. "For me, I want to change that mentality and bowl with consistency everywhere."

He bowled well last week in WA's victory over South Australia at Adelaide Oval, but left-arm quick Joel Paris played the starring role with 11 wickets. Rocchiccioli, however, should be WA's strike weapon against NSW at the SCG in the Shield match starting on Monday. He took eight wickets in the corresponding fixture last summer and this match holds further intrigue with Test stalwart Nathan Lyon set to be Rocchiccioli's opposite number.

"Playing Gaz [Lyon] is really exciting. Hopefully, I get to face him and experience what it's like batting against a world-class offspinner. It would be nice to take some things from that back to my game," he said.

Lyon's calf injury during the Ashes was a reminder that he's entering the twilight of his legendary career, albeit he is aiming to play in the 2027 Ashes series in England. Murphy, 22, is his obvious successor after impressing in Test cricket so far, but Rocchiccioli is gaining ground. Australia's next Test assignment in south Asia is a tour of Sri Lanka in early 2025.

"I grew up idolising the guys with a baggy green, but I haven't given much thought to that," Rocchiccioli said. "I'm walking a path towards mastering my skill. If you can master something then the rest takes care of itself."

If higher honours do eventuate one day then his classmates might finally realise what he does outside of the classroom.