"A few of the boys said you've broken a few records"- Jake Fraser-McGurk on breaking AB de Villiers' long-standing record with stunning hundred
Young South Australia batter Jake Fraser-McGurk created history on Sunday, October 8, in a Marsh Cup game against Tasmania. He smashed a sensational hundred off just 29 balls, breaking the List A record that was held by the great AB de Villiers since 2015.
De Villiers had smashed a hundred off just 31 balls against West Indies, but now the record of the fastest List A hundred is with Fraser-McGurk. The youngster accepted that he had no idea about the record as he was just trying to hit everything out of the ground with his side chasing 436 to win.
Here's what Jake Fraser-McGurk told ESPNCricinfo:
"I had no idea [about the record]. I was just trying to hit the ball to the boundary. I came off and a few of the boys said you've broken a few records and the one that sticks out is AB against West Indies, I remember watching that innings, it was incredible."
He further added:
"I was seeing the ball so clearly and everything felt a lot slower than usual, I was in that zone, that mental state, which is something as a batter you try and be in every single time but it's rare. To finally have that happen is very pleasing."
I'm just getting started: Jake Fraser-McGurk
Jake Fraser-McGurk took the world by storm four years ago when he smashed half-centuries on his List A as well as first-class debuts at the age of just 17. He agreed that he had been a bit harsh on himself for going off the boil.
However, Fraser-McGurk keeps the example of Australian star Steve Smith in front of him to get inspired by how the latter developed himself from being a leg-spinner to one of the best batters in the world. On this, he stated:
"I've been around for a while, but some people forget I'm still only 21, so hopefully got plenty of cricket to come and the way I see it, I'm just getting started."
He added:
"I've caught myself a few times thinking this is so hard, but then I realise where some other greats of the game were at my age. Steve Smith was a bowler at my age and now he's one of the best batsmen in the world, so things like that, you have to realise you've got plenty of time."
Jake Fraser-McGurk's heroic effort of 125(38) was not enough as South Australia were bowled out for 398 and lost an incredibly high-scoring game by 37 runs.