In-form Young seizes opening
Will Young is doing all he can to force his way back into the Black Caps’ top one-day international lineup.
The opener made 89 off 94 as they won the second of three matches against Bangladesh in Nelson on Wednesday.
His innings at Saxton Oval followed one of 100 off 95 in the first-up win in Dunedin, and took his tally for the year in ODIs to 978 in 22 innings.
Only newly minted Indian Premier League multimillionaire Daryl Mitchell has scored more – 1204 in 25 innings. And only Mitchell and the ever-present wicketkeeper Tom Latham have played more than Young’s 26 matches.
But while Latham and Mitchell are cemented in the Black Caps’ first-choice XI in the 50-over format, Young isn’t as things stand.
He was, briefly, in September and October, when he was picked ahead of Finn Allen and earmarked as Devon Conway’s opening partner for the World Cup in India.
Young’s form at home against Sri Lanka in April and on a tour of Pakistan later that month and in May, in Black Caps teams shorn of their IPL stars, convinced the
selectors he was their man at the top of the order.
But after making 352 runs at an average of 58.6 in those seven matches, he made only 226 at an average of 28.25 in the eight where he was clearly the No 1 choice – including a golden duck in the opening match of the World Cup.
That Rachin Ravindra then joined Conway in making a big unbeaten century as the Black Caps hammered England put Young’s position in the spotlight.
As it turned out, he ended up playing in a total of six World Cup matches – five of
them thanks to Kane Williamson’s broken thumb in his first match back from a knee injury – making 206 runs at an average of 34.33.
But when everyone was fit and available, it was Ravindra who became Conway’s opening partner – having made two more centuries in the meantime – and Young who was carrying the drinks.
This month’s ODI series against Bangladesh was a relatively awkward proposition, starting within a month of the World Cup ending and coming almost a year before the Black Caps’ next 50-over assignment,
in Sri Lanka next November.
Young has been the standout performer so far, with the third and final match of the series scheduled for McLean Park in Napier tomorrow.
At Saxton Oval on Wednesday, he was joined by Henry Nicholls, who made 95 off 99, while at University of Otago Oval last Sunday, he was joined by Latham, who made 92 off 77.
There has been less to shout about from a bowling point of view, though seamers Josh Clarkson and Will O’Rourke have both been solid in their first series as Black Caps.