Jake Fraser-McGurk becomes 2nd-youngest Australian to score T20I half-century
Batting sensation Jake Fraser-McGurk made history by becoming the second-youngest Australian cricketer to score a half-century in T20 Internationals. The 22-year-old achieved this feat during the second T20I against England at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff. This milestone follows his underwhelming performance in the three-match series against Scotland, where he failed to impress with the bat. Here are further details.
Fraser-McGurk's impressive performance against England
Fraser-McGurk ended his disappointing run with a swift half-century against England. He scored an impressive 50 runs off 31 balls, maintaining a strike rate of 161.29. His performance included two sixes and four boundaries, contributing significantly to Australia's total score of 193/6. This marked a significant improvement from his previous series against Scotland where he only managed to score 16 runs across three innings.
Fraser-McGurk's record-breaking achievement
With his half-century, Fraser-McGurk has become the second-youngest Australian to reach this milestone in T20Is. The record for the youngest Australian to score a half-century in T20Is is held by David Warner, who achieved this feat in January 2009 at the age of 22 years and 76 days. On the day of his record-breaking performance, Fraser-McGurk was aged 22 years and 155 days. Meanwhile, this was the batter's eighth T20 fifty.
How did the game pan out?
Australia's opening pair, Travis Head (31) and Matthew Short (28), provided a strong start to the match by adding 52 runs in just 4.2 overs. Josh Inglis (42) also played a crucial role in powering Australia to 193/6. However, Liam Livingstone's exceptional 87 led England to a three-wicket victory. He was involved in a brilliant 90-run stand with Jacob Bethell (44). Skipper Philip Salt made 39 as Short's five-wicket haul went in vain.
