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Australia's new top-order batter Jake Fraser-McGurk failed to deliver with the bat again in the second ODI against Sri Lanka in Colombo on Friday, February 14. The right-handed batter departed for just run-a-ball nine as the tourists lost their second wicket for 28 in a 282-run chase.
McGurk holed out to skipper Charith Asalanka at mid-off. The 22-year-old had previously managed just two runs in the first ODI, where the Aussies lost by 49 runs to go 0-1 behind in the two-match series.
The youngster has been dismal with the bat since his ODI debut, barring his 41 against West Indies last year. His other scores read 10, 16, 13, 7, 2, and 9 (today). His form is a big concern for the Aussies ahead of the Champions Trophy.
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Fans on X trolled Jake Fraser-McGurk while questioning his batting credentials in international cricket.
One user wrote:
"I’ve never seen Jake Fraser-McGurk make runs. Why is he in the ODI team?"
Another user wrote:
"Fraser-McGurk shouldn’t be playing for Australia. Pretty simple as that."
A third user added:
"Death, Taxes and Fraser-McGurk failing with the bat lol. He must have some good dirt on selectors lol. The dude is probably averaging like 10 across all formats and comps combined the last 10 months or so."
Here are a few more reactions:
McGurk has been equally disappointing in T20Is, barring his half-century against England last year. He has scored 113 runs in seven matches at an average of 16.14.
Notably, the Aussie batter first came to the limelight by smashing 330 runs in nine innings at a strike rate of 234.04, including four half-centuries for Delhi Capitals (DC) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season.
Jake Fraser-McGurk fails again; Australia in a spot of bother against Sri Lanka in the 2nd ODI
Australia lost the top three early against Sri Lanka in the second ODI. Besides Jake Fraser-McGurk, openers Matthew Short and Travis Head perished for 2 and 18 runs, respectively. Asitha Fernando has bagged all three wickets so far.
At the time of writing, the visitors were 59/3 after 11.4 overs, with skipper Steve Smith and Josh Inglis at the crease.
Batting first, Sri Lanka put up 281/4 in 50 overs. Kusal Mendis smashed 101 off 115 balls with the help of 11 boundaries. Skipper Charith Asalanka, Nishan Madushka, and Janith Liyanage chipped in with 78* (66), 51 (70), and 32* (21), respectively.
Follow the SL vs AUS 2nd ODI live score and updates here.
