Jake Fraser-McGurk has shrugged off criticism he needs to alter his ultra-aggressive approach to opening the batting for Australia.
The 22-year-old is preparing for just his eighth match for Australia but is arguably the most-talked about player in the white-ball set-up.
After blasting his way to 16 in the first ODI against Pakistan on Monday, Fraser-McGurk mistimed a pull short directly to mid-on for an easy catch.
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It is not the first time he has been out in ugly fashion, with this dismissal triggering a strong reaction from former Australian great Ian Healy.
“Matt Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk were playing like schoolyard bullies,” Healy said on his SEN show.
“The disregard for the conditions wasn’t good enough.”
But the Victorian, who moved to South Australia for more opportunities ahead of the 2023-24 season, has no plans to change his approach.
“The game’s changing and that’s sort of the way we want to play our cricket, take on the first 10 overs,” Fraser-McGurk told reporters in Adelaide on Thursday.
“Instead of scrapping to 240-250, which aren’t really winnable scores out here, getting towards more of the high 300s mark is more of a winnable total, we think.
“If we get off to a flyer in the first 10 then that sets up a nice platform for the boys in the middle to get us past those totals.”
When Fraser McGurk fires – as he did several times in this year’s Indian Premier League – he is one of the most destructive batters in modern cricket.
In just his second ODI back in February, the powerful right-hander carted 41 from 18 balls as Australia chased down the West Indies’ 86 in less than seven overs.
Fraser-McGurk was not the only Australian batter to lose their wicket in puzzling fashion against Pakistan, with opening partner Short, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, and Aaron Hardie also playing disappointing shots.
Labuschagne and Steve Smith remain part of Australia’s middle-order, and Fraser-McGurk believes that allows other batters to attack even harder.
“When you’ve got ‘Smudge’ (Smith) and ‘Marn’ (Labuschagne) coming out after you, it allows me to go out there with even more freedom, if you want to think about it like that,” he said.
“You’ve got those two world-class batters there, so me and Shorty can go out there and play the way we play.”
Friday night’s match in Adelaide, and Sunday’s third and final ODI in Perth, are Fraser-McGurk and Short’s last chances to impress in the bid to partner World Cup hero Travis Head in next year’s Champions Trophy.
Head (paternity leave) is missing these ODIs but will return to the Australian set-up before the first Test against India, starting on November 22.
As there is in the Test team, there is a vacancy at the top of the order in the white-ball squad following David Warner’s international retirement.
