12 September,2024 04:20 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Ricky Ponting (Pic: File Pic)
Legendary Australian captain Ricky Ponting praised rising star Jake Fraser-McGurk by saying he is one of the most promising talents in the world cricket.
Despite his explosive batting display, Ricky Ponting feels that Jake still has some areas to improve, particularly in refining his style of play.
The youngster did not feature in the first T20I match against England but has established his name as a hard-hitter after making his debut in the Indian Premier League 2024 with Delhi Capitals.
While speaking to Sky Sports Cricket, Ponting emphasized that Fraser-McGurk's potential is immense and that, with a more strategic approach, he could become a key player for Australia across all three formats.
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"He's an extreme talent. He's a ball-striking talent. He's still very much of a rough diamond though. Like I'm not sure in his own head he's actually worked out exactly the right way to go about it yet. I mean, he only goes one way, but when he's thinking about hitting the ball to different parts of the ground is when you see the best Jake Fraser-McGurk quite often", Ponting told Sky Sports Cricket.
"He'll get sort of stuck in trying to hit him one which is normally down over long on or to mid wicket. But if he thinks about scoring 360 degrees around the ground, he's as clean a striker as I think I've ever seen. He's probably 5 ft 10, he's not a big kid, but he hits the ball extremely hard and he's got no fear, and he's a gun in the field. He's someone that I think that in the future can be a three-format player for Australia," Ponting noted.
Ricky Ponting's comments highlighted the belief in Jake Fraser-McGurk's ability to rise to the occasion and provided that he will continue to evolve his game.
In the first T20I match, the Aussies handed over a 38-run defeat to England. Riding high on Travis Head's fiery 59 runs in just 28 deliveries, Australia posted 179 runs on board. It proved to be too much for the "Three Lions" as they were dismissed on 151 runs.
(With ANI Inputs)
