‘The swag you need’: ‘Rooster’ Jake Fraser McGurk heralds new dawn for Australian side

Snubbed for a full-time contract at the start of the domestic season, Jake Fraser-McGurk moved from Victoria to South Australia. The Redback’s Rooster has left egg on the Vics’ faces.

It’s not strictly correct to say Victoria didn’t want to keep Jake Fraser-McGurk at the end of last season.

It’s just that the Vics didn’t want him all that much. The wunderkind’s home state offered him only a one-year contract extension as a rookie, effectively a demotion given he had been on a full state deal for the three seasons beforehand.

It wasn’t as though he had set the world on fire for Victoria either, as demonstrated by a Sheffield Shield average of 18.23 and one-day cup mark of 29.70, albeit with a strike rate over 110.

He was an emblem of the ideological battle within Victorian cricket surrounding how much to reward mature-age Premier Cricket guns like James Seymour and Matt Fotia or focus on pathway products like Mackenzie Harvey and Zak Evans.

So it was with a sense of foreboding from sections of the Victorian cricket community that Fraser-McGurk - who had earned his first Big Bash League deal with the Melbourne Renegades at just 16 - moved to South Australia on a two-year full contract at 21.

Rooster in red: Jake Fraser-McGurk celebrates after bringing up his century against Victoria in November 2023. Picture: Mark Brake/Getty Images.

Within nine months of his arrival with the Redbacks, Fraser-McGurk has been called up to Australia’s one-day squad for February’s series against the West Indies.

If eggs aren’t quite being wiped off brows at Junction Oval, then the cartons should at least be getting ordered.

There is more than a touch of poetry to the fact that Fraser-McGurk replaces Glenn Maxwell, who is being rested for the series.

As well as being a mentor for Fraser-McGurk, Maxwell, though 14 years the youngster’s senior, shares a maverick streak with the newbie.

Take this reflection from former Victorian and SA wicketkeeper Adam Crosthwaite, who coached Fraser-McGurk at the Renegades.

“He hits it better than most which everyone knows,” Crosthwaite said.

“He is a little misunderstood. He’s a great kid who wants to learn. I’m so happy for him. I knew about him as a kid when he got to Richmond I was still in Sydney and the Tigers knew they had something special as soon as he walked in the door.

Jake Fraser-McGurk of the Renegades has been one of the BBL’s stars. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images.

“Just like Maxwell and (Aaron) Finch before him he had many people try tell him how to play. Guys like this figure it out on their own time and when they do they turn into Maxwell, Finch and (David) Warner types.”

It is understandable why there were some misgivings around Fraser-McGurk. He tends to find trouble more than usual, most infamously during the under-19 World Cup four years ago when sent home after a run-in with a monkey at a zoo (yes, you read correctly) and being embroiled in a social media storm involving posts appearing to take the mickey out of subcontinental fans.

The personalised number plate, diamond earrings and perhaps exaggerated golf exploits gave the impression of a young man who might be getting ahead of himself.

That his nickname - “Rooster” - given to him at a Richmond Cricket Club camp due to an apparent similarity between the sound made by the bird and the cricketer’s surname - may have fit in more ways than one.

Yet to Crosthwaite, that is all a bit of a show.

Jake Fraser-McGurk of the Renegades thanks fans at Marvel Stadium in December. Picture: Kelly Defina/Getty Images.

“He’s a great kid who has been portrayed as arrogant in his early days as I saw it it was insecurity,” Crosthwaite said.

“He’s got the swag you need and the skill to back it up. And this season he has learnt to bat in short-form cricket. Still heaps to improve on. But remember the public also thought Dave Warner would never play test cricket. And I think the public was wrong there and I think they are wrong with JFM.”

Since his move across the border, Fraser-McGurk has scored the fastest century in List A cricket history (off 29 balls against Tasmania), earned attention from IPL scouts, secured one of the most lucrative deals in BBL history, made a grand impression in the UAE’s ILT20 league, outshining Dubai Capitals teammate Warner with a debut half-century in recent days.

Now been called up to play for his country. And still he’s only 21.

Make no mistake, this is a rare talent.

Originally published as ‘The swag you need’: ‘Rooster’ Jake Fraser McGurk heralds new dawn for Australian side