Former Cricketer Bryce McGain says young batting sensation Jake Fraser McGurk has ‘just about booked a ticket’ to the T20 World Cup in June following his tremendous form in the IPL.
On Saturday, the 22-year-old notched up his third IPL half-century for the Delhi Capitals – knocking 84 runs off 27 balls – including 11 fours and 6 sixes.
At one point, Fraser-McGurk was on track to beat Chris Gayle’s record for the quickest IPL century scored, but fell 16 runs short after being caught out.
With the T20 World Cup looming, Fraser McGurk continues to leave cricket fans in awe as he sends a message to the Australian selectors.
Speaking on Sports Breakfast, McGain says that the young gun has every chance to be selected in the squad which flies out in late May.
“We saw a little taste of him in Australian colours and I think most of the Australian public and even the selectors would have liked what they saw at the higher level,” said McGain.
“Fraser McGurk’s gone over there on a $92,000 contract, the rest of their outfit, they’re all over a million dollars plus… but it’s been Fraser McGurk at 92,000 who’s been utterly outstanding. He scored 270 runs recently, 220 of those runs are in boundaries.
“His role is to go out there, bat six overs and score as many boundaries as you possibly can. He can do that for Australia in a
World Cup, the pitches will be similar in the Caribbean, he has just about booked himself a ticket for that.
“It takes a different type of player to play at the top of the order but for international T20 cricket, he’s custom-built for Australia, he has to be selected.”
In a new era of T20, Fraser-McGurk has poised himself as the ideal T20 batter – an opener willing to capitalise early and adapt form to different bowling styles while maintaining a high strike rate.
In just 104 balls, Fraser-McGurk has attacked and attempted to hit boundaries off 74% of those deliveries – twice the IPL’s aggressive shot percentage.
McGain has identified a sway towards a heavy power-hitting batting lineup, and moved away from ‘accumulators’ in the IPL, with international T20 cricket set to follow suit.
With this emerging trend, Fraser-McGurk is in the box-seat to be picked ahead of some more established names.
“Fraser McGurk has leap-frogged a few. He stamped his card because it’s exactly what the Australia needs. That really dynamic start and that danger,” said McGain.
“Glenn Maxwell has got that reputation as well. When he comes to the crease, the opposition are really nervous.
“There are more scoring opportunities because of what could happen rather than what is actually happening in that moment.
The bowlers are under such pressure and the opposition captain is trying to cover off, if they ramp, flick, or reverse slog.”
“It can really put some chaos into the opposition. Fraser McGurk is certainly doing that in the IPL at the moment.”
Australia’s T20 World Cup campaign kicks off on June 6th against Oman at Kensington Oval, Barbados.
IMAGE: Sydney Morning Herald