WORLD CUP AT HIS FEET
Paine: Drop a ‘keeper to make way for talented Fraser-McGurk
Former Australian captain Tim Paine is calling for national selectors to fast-track wunderkind Jake Fraser-McGurk into their Twenty20 World Cup squad at the expense of a second wicketkeeper.
Fraser-McGurk has started his Indian Premier League career in scintillating fashion.
He has blasted two half-centuries in his first three innings for Delhi Capitals at a strike rate of 222.22.
The 22-year-old Victorian, who moved to South Australia for state cricket last year, is uncapped in T20 internationals but played two one-dayers for Australia in February as selectors turned their eyes to Australia’s 50-over World Cup defence in 2027.
However, having impressed for Melbourne Renegades and Dubai Capitals over the summer, Fraser-McGurk’s efforts in India have cannoned him into calculations for the T20 World Cup in the US and Caribbean in June.
A 15-man squad for the event won’t be finalised until next month but selection chair George Bailey and national coach Andrew McDonald have flagged the importance of the IPL in selection considerations.
Working against FraserMcGurk is the fact he tends to bat in the top three, an area in which Australia is well-stocked in captain-elect Mitch Marsh, David Warner and Travis Head, who has himself dominated during the IPL season for Sunrisers Hyderabad.
With a squeeze on for spots in both the XI and the squad, ex-Test skipper Paine, who played 12 T20 internationals and is an assistant coach with Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash League, said FraserMcGurk would be in his preferred squad if named today.
Paine would leave out West Australian wicketkeeper Josh Inglis, despite him making 110 in a T20 against India last November in Visakhapatnam. Paine has backed Strikers gun Matt Short for a spot in the squad because of his versatility in the batting order and ability as an off-spinner.
He has also named Marcus Stoinis in his preferred combination and longtime teammate Matthew Wade to be the first-choice wicketkeeper.
That meant Paine had to make a call between a second wicketkeeper and the emerging star in Fraser-McGurk.
“I just don’t think we need (a second wicketkeeper),” he said. “Short offers flexibility. He can cover multiple players and play multiple roles if required.
“So then it comes down to Inglis or JFM for me and at the moment his (FraserMcGurk’s) form is outrageous.
“His BBL was really good. He can change a game in 10 balls.”