‘All yours now champion’ – Warner endorses Fraser-McGurk for top-order jobs

Warner has become a mentor to Fraser-McGurk with the pair spending a lot of time together in the IPL, where they played for Delhi Capitals, and recently at the T20 World Cup when Fraser-McGurk joined as a travelling reserve.

Warner’s international career came to an end with Australia’s Super Eight exit meaning a new era at the top of the order looms in both limited-overs formats.

“All yours now champion,” Warner captioned an Instagram Stories post on Wednesday of himself and Fraser-McGurk sharing a drink.

Speaking to Australian reporters after the team’s exit was confirmed, Warner endorsed Fraser-McGurk’s credentials as an opener in T20s and ODIs.

“Every time I put something out there I become a selector [but] I think he’s definitely got the ability to definitely do that,” Warner told News Corp and cricket.com.au.

“He can lock it in. And a bit like myself, you [have to learn] how to play…50-over cricket. That’s one thing that I learnt from Twenty20. I got dropped after seven games because I didn’t really understand how to play the game of one-day cricket.

“So from a one day perspective if he learns that and understands that he’ll have a fantastic career, especially batting in Australia. Best wickets in the world.”

Fraser-McGurk, who played two ODIs against West Indies in February, hitting 51 runs off 23 balls across a pair of innings, and earlier in the season hammered a world-record 29-ball one-day century in the Marsh Cup, will likely be included for September’s tours of Scotland and England as Australia start to look to the future.

However, Fraser-McGurk himself has played down the prospect of following Warner as a red-ball opener after finding an experiment at the top of the order for South Australia in the Sheffield Shield didn’t suit him. He made 19 runs in four innings opening having earlier in the season scored a maiden first-class hundred at No. 6.

“Last year when I was put up to open the batting in Shield cricket, that’s not me. Had Xavier Bartlett bowling huge outswingers on a green top at Adelaide Oval…it was torture. Hopefully won’t do that again, that’s one thing I won’t be able to do,” he told the Unplayable Podcast.

Warner acknowledged the competing demands that will come Fraser-McGurk’s way from the franchise scene but was encouraged by his desire to pursue first-class cricket.

“Will he play Test cricket? I think he’ll have to have a breakout year in the next 12-18 months to prove himself,” Warner said. “I think we’ve all had to score hundreds to get your name up there [to] warrant that.

“Hopefully when it comes to Shield cricket this year, he sticks at that. There’s going to be a lot of money thrown around to him for these Twenty20 leagues and it’s upon him and his management to keep him focused and aligned with what he wants to do. But I hope he does – I know he’s thinking like that. He wants to play red-ball cricket.”