Jake Fraser-McGurk receives last minute call up for T20I matches in the West Indies, Spencer Johnson withdraws due to injury
Jake Fraser-McGurk has received a last minute call-up to the Australian squad for the upcoming five match T20I series in the West Indies while paceman Spencer Johnson has been forced to withdraw.
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Jake Fraser-McGurk has received an international reprieve, with the mercurial batter included as a late addition to Australia’s Twenty20 squad in the West Indies.
However the news is not as positive for injury-prone quick Spencer Johnson, who has been withdrawn from the tour as he continues to deal with a back issue.
Fraser-McGurk, 23, was last month left out of the 16-man Aussie T20 squad for the five-match series in the Caribbean that follows the third and final Test against the West Indies.
That had followed dwindling returns both domestically and internationally after his breakthrough run early in 2024 in which he debuted for Australia in one-day internationals then shone at the Indian Premier League for the Delhi Capitals.
Fraser-McGurk had a mixed campaign for the San Francisco Unicorns in Major League Cricket, blasting two early half-centuries but finishing the season with a whimper as his side was eliminated by MI New York this week.
The Victorian turned South Australian is likely to also serve as a backup wicketkeeper to Josh Inglis given the absence of another specialist gloveman in the squad.
Left-arm speedster Johnson, 29, has variously been plagued by toe, side and back issues over the past 12 months that have halted his international, IPL and Big Bash League progress.
The series had shaped as another opportunity for Johnson to stake his claim for a regular spot in the absence of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, all of whom are being rested for the series.
In-form paceman Xavier Bartlett will also join the squad given the withdrawal of Hazlewood and Johnson.
The Windies series begins a stretch of four build-up series ahead of next year’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.
Australia also has one-day and T20 series against South Africa, a short T20 trip to New Zealand and one-day and T20 series at home to India before the Ashes series commences in Perth in late November.
Originally published as Jake Fraser-McGurk receives last minute call up for T20I matches in the West Indies, Spencer Johnson withdraws due to injury
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