88(38) - MLC 2025 Witnesses A Measured, Constrained And Better Version Of Jake Fraser-McGurk

Jake Fraser-McGurk vs LAKR in MLC 2025 [Source: @MLCricket/x.com]

Jake Fraser-McGurk caught the eyes of cricket fans and experts immediately after his appearance in BBL because of his explosive batting and fearless attitude. The year 2023-24 turned out to be a break through year for the batter, when with his brilliant shows in the BBL and IPL, he earned place in the limited overs squad of the national side.

It is often said that - 'Cricket is a great leveller'. JFM might have already realised this in his short career. After his entry into the national side, his form started to take a dip. Soon, it looked like he lost his golden touch and started to become a liability for the sides he was a part of. 

In the lean phase that JFM was going through, there were some key weaknesses that were evident to an analysis or avid cricket expert - 

What Was JFM's Weakness During His Lean Phase?

Jake Fraser-McGurk did not have the best times in IPL 2025 while playing for DC [Source: @deeputalks/x.com]

Temperament: One of the biggest problems was McGurk was having temperament issues. In T20 matches, it felt like the young batter is hurrying too much and looking to accelerate very early in his innings. The propensity of the McGurk to go on the aggressive very early in his knock was not allowing him the time to adjust himself to the conditions and hence was ending his knocks prematurely. 

Technique: During the duress period, JFM appeared to be an one dimensional player. Whenever he found it hard to get going or struggled to find footing in a game, he tried to take the leg stump heave as an escape route. The opponents soon spotted this and bowled to accordingly. This planned execution resulted in JFM failing to stretch his knocks and his numbers taking serious hit. 

What JFM Has Improved His Batting After IPL 2025?

Spending Time In The Middle: In the knock against the Los Angeles Knight Riders, Jake Fraser-McGurk looked like a matured batter. He was ready to give the initial deliveries to the bowling team before putting his foot down on the accelerator. 

Table - Innings progression of JFM vs LAKR

Including the extras that he faced, JFM faced 40 deliveries in their innings. If we look at the innings progression of the batter, he started carefully. In the first 10 deliveries he scored at a strike rate of 160, but in the next 10 deliveries it accelerated to 270. 

Then again after this he steadied himself down to provide solidity to the innings. In between 21-30 deliveries, JFM scored at a strike rate of 190. As his eyes settled and he had a measure of the bowlers, he accelerated once more and scored at a strike rate of 260. 

The whole progression JFM's knock shows that he has ready take time at the beginning, know the conditions and then take on the bowlers. 

Developing An Offside Game: During his presence in the middle, Jake Fraser-McGurk scored 51 off the 88 runs on the off side. That is about 58% of the runs in his innings. This is a huge change from how he was batting before this. From having an unidimensional game, JFM apparently showed that he has developed effective game on the other side of the ground.

Jake Fraser-McGurk's wagon wheel vs LAKR [Source: Crex App]

Selection of Shots: Till IPL 2025, JFM apparently looked to power every ball to the boundary. However, in the game against the Knight Riders, he looked selective about his shots. McGurk did not try to swing every thing, instead he waited for the deliveries that were in his zone and took full advantage of them. 

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