Young excitement machine Jake Fraser-McGurk has grabbed the headlines off record six-hitter Chris Lynn as he helped Melbourne Renegades to their first BBL win of the season
Chasing the Strikers' 6-177, in which Lynn belted 56 off 34 balls, the Renegades reached their target at Marvel Stadium on Friday with four wickets and eight balls to spare, with Fraser-McGurk blasting 70 off 37.
He added 75 with veteran Shaun Marsh (54 off 33), with the 'Gades racing to 1-123 in the 12th over, before a late clutter of wickets.
English opener Joe Clarke (28 not out off 19) was there at the end after earlier retiring hurt with a quadriceps issue.
Starting the match on 196 maximums, 33-year-old Lynn brought up 200 sixes and also reached his 50 with a massive straight six off Renegades captain for the night, Will Sutherland.
Lynn also became the first BBL player to reach 3500 runs, belting 56 off 34 balls before skying a delivery from spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman (3-20) to deep extra cover in the first of the Power Surge overs.
He moved an incredible 82 sixes ahead of the next most prolific maximum hitter Aaron Finch, but couldn’t prevent the Strikers from suffering an eighth straight away loss.
But 21-year old Fraser-McGurk continued his breakout campaign, which included dynamic BBL efforts of 55 off 23 against the Heat and 48 off 24 versus the Sixers.
He produced his biggest BBL score, savaging the Strikers attack with his powerful strokeplay, before being yorked by James Bazley.
Marsh, who scored 59 off 36 in his only previous innings in the tournament, joined in the fun, taking 16 off the last three balls of legspinner Cameron Boyce’s second over.
The Renegades' chase got off to a terrible start with South African star Quinton de Kock out to his first ball and the second of the innings.
All of Lynn’s sixes on Friday came off the quicks, with spinners Mujeeb Ur Rahman (3-20 off four overs) and Adam Zampa (0-25 off four) proving harder to hit than their quicker colleagues.
Opener D’Arcy Short (54 off 47) picked up the pace after struggling In the first half of the innings, though he benefited from two dropped return catches from Zampa on 12 and Sutherland on 40.
Englishman Jamie Overton (29 off 15) and wicketkeeper Harry Nielsen (17 off five) added more substance with brisk cameos in an unbroken seventh-wicket stand in the closing overs.
The Renegades made a big selection decision before the game, with regular captain and out-of-form batter Nic Maddison left out of the side.