Cricket fans should already be aware that Jake Fraser-McGurk favors the leg-side boundary.
With his 38-ball 125 against Tasmania for South Australia, he broke AB de Villiers’ record for the fastest ton in List-A history. He reached three figures off just 29 balls.A cricket, with ten fours and up to thirteen sixes, most of which were hit against the leg-side boundary.
In response to the question of whether he had ever played an innings like this, Fraser-McGurk said, “maybe in a video game.” For those who were not present for that innings, there have been numerous opportunities to witness snippets of that knock throughout the IPL, such as his most recent 27-ball 84 against the Mumbai Indians, which featured six sixes and eleven fours.
As of the conclusion of Match #44 of IPL 2024, there had been ninety-nine IPL scores thus far. Of them, Fraser-McGurk is the only player to have amassed a half-century at a strike rate exceeding 300. And he’s done it twice: once at an SR of 361.11 in an 18-ball 65 against Sunrisers Hyderabad, and again at 311.11 in his knock against MI. In this edition, Tristan Stubbs’s 71 not out of 25 with a strike rate of 284 is the third best score. It should be noted that this performance also came against MI.
Fraser-McGurk has hammered 22 maximums since joining the IPL, which is second highest for the Capitals this season behind Rishabh Pant’s 23. However, he has only played in half as many games as his captain. Approximately 65 percent of them had crossed the legside fence. In addition, he has scored 22 fours, which are more widely dispersed throughout the field than his six-hitting.
Robust pulls and wristy, carefree flicks over midwicket floating over the ropes have been hallmarks of Fraser-McGurk’s matches. Most of the time, whatever tossed on leg and middle goes over the fence. Additionally, he is skilled at putting deliveries to the off side if there is adequate space, and he can use his wrists to pick up deliveries that are pitched on off or just outside off to the leg-side. The MI bowlers discovered that there is very little room for error while facing McGurk.
It’s rare to witness a bowler of Jasprit Bumrah’s level be welcomed into the attack with a six, but that’s exactly what happened in Delhi as the 22-year-old showed little regard for the opposition’s credentials. In just four deliveries, he smashed a whopping fifteen runs off MI’s best bowler while showing the same contempt for the other bowlers. Nuwan Thushara scored 12 off of 4 deliveries, while Piyush Chawla was also hit for 12 runs off of 6 deliveries. Luke Wood ultimately gave up 19 off of 6 deliveries.
Hardik Pandya, who scored 26 runs off of 7 deliveries and blasted three sixes, two of which were leg-side, turned out to be the most expensive of the group. “His batting technique was really impressive. He made really deliberate shots. That clever innings. After the game, Pandya complimented Fraser-McGurk’s outstanding batting performance to the announcers, saying, “He uses the field very well; he was trying to chip the ball if it wasn’t in his arc.”
The assistant coach for DC, Pravin Amre, talked about Fraser-McGurk’s dominance on the legside. “He has inherent ability. His setup suggests that he thinks a stable base is important. He also has very quick hands. Additionally, there is just one defender on the leg-side when you bat in the powerplay. Therefore, that’s a good spot to hit; even a mishit might result in a boundary,” Amre remarks, before quickly adding, “You can see that he played smart cricket in this game. He also blasted a couple of sixes on the off side when the bowlers bowled wide. Thus, he possesses that skill as well, and he makes excellent shot choices.”
With flat pitches, unfavorable weather, a useless leather ball, and the Impact Player extending the batting order—basically giving you an additional life in video game terms—batting has been more like playing in a video game this IPL. Teams have exerted tremendous effort during every stage of an inning, and the Capitals are no exception, since Fraser-McGurk has regularly given them flashy starts. However, this was not the case in the beginning of DC’s season.
The Capitals brought Fraser-McGurk into the setup just a few weeks prior to the tournament’s commencement, filling up for the injured Lungi Ngidi. For the Capitals, he did not play in any of their first five games, four of which ended in losses. The highest DC recorded in the powerplay during those games was 62/0. The squad that DC was able to defeat in Vizag was the Chennai Super Kings. In that match, Prithvi Shaw scored 43 and David Warner struck a half-century, laying the groundwork for a total of 191, which was more than enough. In the first five matches, DC’s average powerplay score was 52.6, which isn’t particularly remarkable in an IPL where batting has reached incredible heights.
The Capitals have won four of the five games since McGurk arrived, and their average powerplay score has increased to 70.6. This is a surprising development given their standing after five games, as the team is currently in the top five in the standings.
DC’s IPL 2024 powerplay points
Fraser-McGurk prior to
| Powerplay score | Against | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 54/1 | Punjab Kings | Lost |
| 50/2 | Rajasthan Royals | Lost |
| 62/2 | Chennai Super Kings | Won |
| 51/4 | Kolkata Knight Riders | Lost |
| 46/1 | Mumbai Indians | Lost |
Alongside Fraser-McGurk
| Powerplay score | Against | Result | Fraser-McGurk’s score in PP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62/1 | Lucknow Super Giants | Won | 16 off 8 |
| 67/4 | Gujarat Titans | Won | 20 off 10 |
| 88/2 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | Lost | 46 off 13 |
| 44/3 | Gujarat Titans | Won | 23 off 14 |
| 92/0 | Mumbai Indians | Won | 78 off 24 |
How did Fraser-McGurk become involved in the DC system? Amre continues, “Our scouting team was really keen to have him (in the DC team for IPL) after he played three games for Dubai Capitals (in the ILT20). We chose him when we had the chance to choose a replacement, even though we could have gone with any of the other players. Before departing to play for Australia, he only played three innings (for the Dubai Capitals), yet during those three innings, he produced two innings that decided games. The knocks were particularly noteworthy. We made the decision to support him since he is a promising young cricketer.”
When Warner was in the lineup, Fraser-McGurk batted third, but in the previous few games, he has opened as the seasoned left-hander heals from an injury. Fraser-McGurk’s rise, which coincided with Warner’s IPL slump, will have given the Australian selectors something to consider ahead of the T20 World Cup.
Warner versus. Fraser-McGurk in T20 cricket (since the conclusion of IPL 2023)
| Player | Innings | Runs | Average | Strike Rate | 50+ scores |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jake Fraser-McGurk | 16 | 613 | 38.31 | 193.37 | 6 |
| David Warner | 21 | 537 | 25.57 | 130.02 | 3 |
Tim David, an Australian middle-order batsman, describes Fraser-McGurk’s ascent as “exciting to watch,” having seen his demolition act when playing for the MI squad. “It’s thrilling to watch someone who isn’t in the Australia T20 team play outstanding cricket as a young Aussie man who plays for the national team. Really, there isn’t much more to say than that. It’s amazing to watch how many clean strikes he is getting and how many boundaries he seems to be hitting every ball. If he can maintain those innings, it will be fantastic.”
Fraser-McGurk demonstrated his ability with an 18-ball 41 in the third One-Day International (ODI) in the series earlier this year. Fraser-McGurk played a handful of 50-over matches for Australia against the West Indies. Based on the IPL’s current events, Fraser-McGurk has put a sledgehammer to the doors of the selectors. And when the IPL gets close to its conclusion, the Capitals will be overjoyed if he blows it apart.
