Jake Fraser-McGurk set to for second straight Sheffield Shield snubbing by South Australia

Crowned David Warner’s long-term successor by the man himself, and backed by Ricky Ponting to earn a baggy green, Jake Fraser-McGurk’s wait for first-class cricket is set to go on.

Dubbed a future Test player by Ricky Ponting, Jake Fraser-McGurk is facing an extended run on the outer of South Australia’s Sheffield Shield side.

Probably the highest-profile under-23 cricketer in the nation, Fraser-McGurk started the Shield season outside the SA XI in part because Travis Head was available to play the opening round.

But even with Head set to be sidelined for SA’s next match against Queensland beginning on Sunday ahead of the birth of his second child, it’s understood Fraser-McGurk is unlikely to be selected in the SA XI for the clash with the Bulls.

Instead Head’s place is set to be filled by 32-year-old Jake Lehmann, who plundered Western Australia’s second XI for 173 off 195 balls last week.

In contrast, Fraser-McGurk made 28 and 30 in the match, both scores made at better than a run a ball.

Jake Fraser-McGurk is yet to get an extended run in first-class cricket. Picture: Sarah Reed/Getty Images

With Fraser-McGurk not being seriously considered at the top of the order in red-ball cricket after a failed experiment last season, there was no opening for him in SA’s middle order last week with selectors preferring Daniel Drew and all-rounder Ben Manenti for the game against NSW.

Barring a late change of plans, Fraser-McGurk will now likely not play a Shield match until late November at the earliest given the next two rounds of the competition clash with Australian white-ball series against Pakistan.

Fraser-McGurk, 22, was this week named in Australia’s one-day squad for a series beginning on November 4.

The young gun made his international debut in both white-ball formats this year while storming onto the scene with a dominant Indian Premier League campaign with the Delhi Capitals.

Jake Lehmann is expected to make his Shield return. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images

He has been anointed as David Warner’s long-term successor by none other than Warner himself, while Ponting – who coached him at Delhi – has repeatedly said Fraser-McGurk has the makings of a future Test cricketer.

“When you’ve got that sort of talent, you need to be exposed to cricket at the highest level to work it out, Jake can do that,” Ponting said earlier this year.

The youngster’s first-class record to date is extremely modest, averaging 18.96 from 16 matches after debuting for Victoria in 2019. He did however blast a century against his former state in the Shield last November.

Nathan McSweeney and Alex Carey helped stave off defeat for SA last week after Sam Konstas and Nathan Lyon had given NSW the ascendancy at Cricket Central.

SA finished second-bottom of the Shield last season and has not won the competition in more than 28 years.

Originally published as Jake Fraser-McGurk set to for second straight Sheffield Shield snubbing by South Australia