U19 World Cup 2020: Australia's Jake Fraser-McGurk returns home after monkey scratch

Australia Under-19s lost to India Under-19 in the quarter-final of the ongoing World Cup in South Africa. The Aussie colts will now be playing a couple more matches to determine their ranking at the next Under-19 World Cup. However, ahead of those fixtures, they have been dealt with a blow as their star batsman Jake Fraser-McGurk is set to return home after being scratched on the face by a monkey.

After winning against England last Thursday, Australia players were at a natural reserve at a team outing and Fraser-McGurk had to suffer from a weird injury. After consulting the medical staff and the cricketer’s family members, the team management decided to send the Victorian batsman back to Australia. It was deemed necessary to take precautionary treatment within seven days of the accident.

“We want to make sure that Jake doesn’t have any ongoing medical concerns as a result of the incident so we have taken the best course of action. This involves the player returning to Australia for the treatment required within the recommended seven days of the incident taking place.

“We expect Jake will be available for selection shortly after he has completed the treatment,” Alex Kountouris, Cricket Australia’s Sports Science and Sports Medicine Manager, was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.

‘You never like to be leaving the boys’ – Jake Fraser-McGurk

Meanwhile, Jake Fraser-McGurk has expressed his disappointment over leaving his team in the middle of a tournament like World Cup. However, he is confident that his team will do well in his absence and win the next two matches to rank higher for the next edition. “You never like to be leaving the boys with the tournament still in progress. But I’m confident we have the team to get the job done in the final two matches.

“I guess it serves me right for getting too close to the animal enclosure. That’s a lesson learned. I look forward to completing the treatment and getting back on the field as soon as possible. I’d like to thank all the staff from the nature reserve and Cricket Australia for their care and support,” he said.

Australia’s next match in the U19 World Cup will be against the loser of the game between Pakistan and Afghanistan on February in Potchefstroom. They are also considering naming a replacement for Fraser-McGurk ahead of their last couple of the matches of the competition.

Freehit: 20 Questions with Sikandar Raza