"Reminds me a bit of David Warner's introduction into Australian cricket" - Ricky Ponting on Jake Fraser-McGurk
Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting has stated that Jake Fraser-McGurk reminds him of David Warner, given his natural talent. Ponting also believes the youngster can replace Warner in the Australian team.
While the 21-year-old missed out on making a substantial score on his ODI debut, he exploded in Canberra in the final game of the series against the West Indies. With Australia chasing a mere 87-run target, Fraser-McGurk smashed 41 runs off just 18 deliveries with the aid of five fours and three sixes.
Speaking to reporters in Melbourne, Ponting believes Fraser-McGurk can easily be fast-tracked into the Aussie squad across formats.
"I was on record at the start of the summer saying I think he's someone that can be well and truly fast-tracked through the Australian system. Because the natural talent that he's got reminds me a bit of David Warner's introduction into Australian cricket. When we saw [Warner] at the start, I think everyone doubted whether he was going to be good enough to play Test cricket technically," he was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
Fraser-McGurk first came into the spotlight during the Marsh Cup, when he smashed a century off just 29 deliveries for South Australia against Tasmania in October. He also had a decent Big Bash League (BBL) campaign for the Melbourne Renegades, amassing 257 runs in nine matches at a strike rate of 158.64.
"He'll have to bide his time" - Ricky Ponting
With Fraser-McGurk not finding a spot in the T20I series against the West Indies and New Zealand ahead of the T20 World Cup, Ponting believes the current Aussie side is settled enough. Ponting thinks Fraser-McGurk has to wait for his chance.
"Obviously, there's only so many people you can pick in the World Cup squad, isn't there. I'm not saying at all that he should have been picked in the World Cup squad because they've put together a really good squad anyway, and one that on paper will look as good as probably any team going there. He'll have to bide his time. But as we saw yesterday, he looks pretty keen to make the most of the opportunities that he gets," he elaborated.
Australia have six T20Is to play before the T20 World Cup in June in the West Indies and USA.