Jake Fraser-McGurk Breaks AB De Villiers' 31-Ball Hundred Record

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South Australia opener Jake Fraser-McGurk on Sunday (October 6) etched himself in cricket history with an incredible feat, surpassing the legendary AB de Villiers as the batter with the fastest hundred scored in men's List A cricket. 

Jake managed to beat the great South African right-hander with a jaw-dropping knock played in Match 7 of the Marsh Cup, Australia's premier domestic List A competition. Aged just 21, the promising Australian youngster clinched a record that is unlikely to be broken any time soon. 

Opening the innings for South Australia in a humongous run-chase of Tasmania's 435/9 on a flat batting surface in Adelaide, Jake had no option but to go hell for leather from the very beginning of his innings. The circumstances and the adversity of the daunting chase brought the the best out of the youngster, who hammered 125 off just 38 deliveries.


21-Year-Old Jake Fraser-McGurk Surpasses De Villiers

Jake reached his century in only 29 deliveries in the middle, going past De Villiers, who held the record for the fastest century in List A 50-over cricket for eight long years since producing a breathtaking assault against the West Indies in January 2015. 

De Villiers, who is still the quickest ODI centurion ever, had reached his hundred in 31 balls in Johannesburg. The extravagant right-hander, easily one of the best cricketers to have played the game, had hit 16 maximums during his innings as he blazed his way to 149 off 44 deliveries. 

While the Proteas great retains the record for the fastest One-Day International fifty and hundred from his West Indies knock, no batter in the history of the domestic game has ever produced the three-figure milestone as quickly as South Australian opener Jake did in Adelaide on Sunday. 

Given the near-insurmountable chase at hand, the talented player perhaps felt he had no choice but to press on the accelerator from the word go against the new ball. 

It inspired a great flow to his innings and encouraged him to continue hitting the big shots while pushing the opposition on the backfoot. In all, Jake smashed 10 fours and 13 maximums during his enterprising stay at the crease and finished with a tremendous strike rate of 328.94.