Will Young (cricketer)

Will Young
Young batting for Northamptonshire in 2022
Personal information
Full name
William Alexander Young
Born (1992-11-22) 22 November 1992 (age 32)
New Plymouth, New Zealand
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm off break
RoleTop order batter
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 280)3 December 2020 v West Indies
Last Test1 November 2024 v India
ODI debut (cap 200)20 March 2021 v Bangladesh
Last ODI19 November 2024 v Sri Lanka
ODI shirt no.32
T20I debut (cap 88)28 March 2021 v Bangladesh
Last T20I10 November 2024 v Sri Lanka
T20I shirt no.32
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
2011/12–presentCentral Districts
2021Durham
2022Northamptonshire
2023–2024Nottinghamshire
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI T20I FC
Matches 20 34 20 131
Runs scored 1,063 1,374 344 8,233
Batting average 31.26 45.80 18.10 40.16
100s/50s 0/10 3/9 0/2 16/48
Top score 89 120 56 174*
Catches/stumpings 18/– 15/– 6/– 89/–
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 23 December 2024

William Alexander Young (born 22 November 1992) is a New Zealand professional cricketer who plays as a batsman for the New Zealand cricket team and Central Districts.[1] He was captain of the New Zealand Under-19 cricket team at the 2012 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup.[2]

Young made his international debut in December 2020 and has since played international cricket in all formats of the game.[3]

Career

Young attended New Plymouth Boys' High School and in 2010 had a stellar year playing for the school's First XI, scoring nearly 900 runs (including three centuries) during the season.[4] In the 2011/12 New Zealand domestic cricket season he made his first-class debut for Central Districts, becoming the team's captain in December 2015 at just 23 years of age. Under his captaincy the Central Stags won the one-day Ford Trophy in 2016 and the first-class Plunket Shield unbeaten in 2018. Young then elected to step down from the captaincy to focus on his batting and making the New Zealand side.

In December 2018, he was named in New Zealand's Test squad for the series for the first time against Sri Lanka, but he did not play.[5]

In March 2019, Young was named to make his Test cricket debut one day before a Test match between New Zealand and Bangladesh was scheduled to begin at Hagley Oval. However, a terrorist attack in Christchurch on the same afternoon saw the match cancelled by New Zealand Cricket.

Despite not yet having played an international match, in May 2019 he was one of the twenty players awarded an annual NZC contract for the 2019–20 season by New Zealand Cricket.[6]

In May 2019, Young was going to be named as a reserve player for New Zealand in the 2019 Cricket World Cup, but made the decision to undergo shoulder surgery instead after an injury to his right labrum at a training camp.[7]

Despite his shoulder injury, Young scored back-to-back centuries for a New Zealand XI against Australia in a one-day warm-up series of three unofficial ODIs in Brisbane in May 2019. Young averaged more than 100 in the series with consecutive scores of 60, 130 and 111 against the defending Cricket World Cup champions.

In November 2020, Young was named in the New Zealand A cricket team for practice matches against the touring West Indies team.[8][9] Later the same month, he was named in New Zealand's Test squad for the series against the West Indies.[10] He made his Test debut for New Zealand on 3 December 2020, against the West Indies.[11]

In March 2021, Young was named in New Zealand's One Day International (ODI) squad for their series against Bangladesh.[12] He made his ODI debut for New Zealand on 20 March 2021, against Bangladesh.[13] Later the same month, Young was named in New Zealand's Twenty20 International (T20I) squad, also for their series against Bangladesh.[14] He made his T20I debut for New Zealand on 28 March 2021, against Bangladesh.[15]

In March 2022, in the opening match against the Netherlands, Young scored his first century in ODIs, with an unbeaten 103 runs.[16]

In January 2023 Young hit five consecutive deliveries for six in an over of a T20 match off Auckland spinner Louis Delport. He was dismissed in the final ball of the over attempting to hit the rare six sixes in an over feat.[17]

Young signed a three-match contract with Nottinghamshire in July 2023,[18][19] going on to make a century on his debut against Surrey.[20][21]

He rejoined Nottinghamshire for the first-half of the 2024 season.[22][23] In April 2024, Young scored 174 not out against Somerset in an unbroken partnership of 392 with Joe Clarke which set a new record for a third-wicket stand for Nottinghamshire, surpassing the previous mark that had stood for 121 years.[24][25]

Young was named player of the series in the Black Caps' historic 3-0 test series win in India during October and November 2024. He scored 244 runs in six innings at an average of 44.8, with a highest score of 71.[26]

References

  1. ^ "Will Young: Nottinghamshire sign New Zealand batter on three-game red-ball deal". BBC. 5 July 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  2. ^ Will Young - Cricinfo profile
  3. ^ "Will Young to make Test debut as BJ Watling ruled out". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  4. ^ "Stuff". www.stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  5. ^ "Somerville out, Will Young in: New Zealand's squad for Sri Lanka Tests". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  6. ^ "Jimmy Neesham, Tom Blundell and Will Young handed New Zealand contracts". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  7. ^ "Shoulder surgery likely to rule Will Young out for rest of the year". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  8. ^ "Devon Conway included in New Zealand A squad to face West Indies". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  9. ^ "Nicholls, Conway & Young to face West Indies in Queenstown". New Zealand Cricket. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  10. ^ "New Zealand call up Devon Conway, rest Kane Williamson and Trent Boult for West Indies T20Is". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  11. ^ "1st Test, Hamilton, Dec 3 2020, West Indies tour of New Zealand". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  12. ^ "Black Caps vs Bangladesh: Devon Conway, Will Young, Daryl Mitchell get ODI callups". Stuff. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  13. ^ "1st ODI, Dunedin, Mar 19 2021, Bangladesh tour of New Zealand". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  14. ^ "Finn Allen gets New Zealand T20I call-up, Adam Milne returns". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  15. ^ "1st T20I, Hamilton, Mar 28 2021, Bangladesh tour of New Zealand". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  16. ^ "New Zealand beat the Netherlands by seven wickets in ODI in Mount Maunganui". Stuff. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  17. ^ "Super Smash: Blackcaps batter Will Young explodes for 30 runs off five balls in Central Stags win over Auckland". Newshub. 14 January 2023. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  18. ^ "Will Young: Nottinghamshire sign New Zealand batter on three-game red-ball deal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  19. ^ "Nottinghamshire sign Will Young on three-match red-ball contract". The Cricketer. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  20. ^ "County Championship: Will Young hits Notts debut century against Surrey". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  21. ^ "Will Young hits century on Nottinghamshire debut to frustrate leaders Surrey". The Independent. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  22. ^ "Will Young: Nottinghamshire re-sign New Zealand batter for 2024". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  23. ^ "New Zealand international Will Young returns to Nottinghamshire for 2024". The Cricketer. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  24. ^ "County Championship: Nottinghamshire duo denied chance of 400-run stand at Somerset by rain". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  25. ^ "Clarke demands Notts improvement after record stand secures draw". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  26. ^ "Stuff". www.stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 2 December 2024.