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          Who is new world-record holder Jake Fraser-McGurk?

          Jake Fraser-McGurk played some astonishing strokes Getty Images
          • Andrew McGlashan, Deputy editor, ESPNcricinfoOct 8, 2023, 09:27 AM
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              Deputy Editor Andrew arrived at ESPNcricinfo via Manchester and Cape Town, after finding the assistant editor at a weak moment as he watched England's batting collapse in the Newlands Test. Andrew began his cricket writing as a freelance covering Lancashire during 2004 when they were relegated in the County Championship. In fact, they were top of the table when he began reporting on them but things went dramatically downhill. He likes to let people know that he is a supporter of county cricket, a fact his colleagues will testify to and bemoan in equal quantities.

          Move over AB de Villiers, there's a new holder of the fastest List A century: the 21-year-old Australian batter Jake Fraser-McGurk who smashed a 29-ball hundred against Tasmania in the 50-over Marsh Cup. Here's a bit more about him and his career so far.

          Half-centuries as a 17-year-old

          Fraser-McGurk made an instant impression on his first-class and one-day debuts for Victoria in 2019 when, aged 17, he hit half-centuries in both the Sheffield Shield and One-day Cup in the space of six days. However, they would remain his only half-centuries until this remarkable century against Tasmania.

          A difficult Under-19 World Cup

          He was part of Australia's squad for the 2020 edition of the U-19 World Cup in South Africa, but he was forced home early after being scratched in the face by a monkey at a nature reserve. "I guess it serves me right for getting too close to the animal enclosure. That's a lesson learned," he said.

          A player to watch

          In mid-2020, he was included in ESPNcricinfo's 20 players to watch for the 2020s. His then Victoria coach Chris Rogers said: "You look at him and you think, 'Well, you've got everything you need, it's just whether you make good decisions down the track.' Sometimes he'll leave a few runs out in the middle, and as a coach you can get a little bit frustrated, but then he'll just do something magical and play an innings that is exceptional. When he has his good days, they're just incredible."

          A struggle for consistency

          As Fraser-McGurk's overall numbers would suggest, the early stages of his professional career haven't been easy. Neither has he amassed huge runs at grade level, although did make for 2nd XI hundreds for Victoria. Two seasons after that half-century on debut, he helped guide Victoria to victory in a low-scoring Shield match at the SCG. But he would only make two Shield appearances in the 2021-22 season and none last summer. In the one-day game he would occasionally show flashes of his talent but, again, lost his place in the format before moving to South Australia ahead of 2023-24 campaign.

          In the BBL he remains part of the Melbourne Renegades squad. He will be looking to turn around a poor T20 record where he currently averages just 13.28 with a strike-rate of 103.33 after 25 matches.

          Didn't he go viral during the BBL?

          Yes, he did. Twice. Fraser-McGurk is known as a terrific fielder and in 2021 pulled off a stunning boundary catch in the 2021-22 season when he leapt to catch Jake Weatherald's slog sweep at Marvel Stadium. "He tried to sweep a few of them and I thought I was in the game," he said. "Sort of reminds me of Ben Stokes in the World Cup."

          Then he did it again the following season with another stunning catch against Hobart Hurricanes. "I thought that was going a long way back, we have seen him do it before, he's as athletic as anyone in the world," Brett Lee said on commentary. "He is quickly becoming one of Australia's great fielders, he has taken some screamers, look at how relaxed he was."