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Ian Smith: Why Will Young must be a permanent fixture in the Blackcaps' Test team
Ian Smith • November 11th, 2024 10:27 pm
Well, home is home, and home is always great.
There's nothing like flying into Auckland on a sunny morning and touching down to a massively improved immigration system. Hats off to them. Nothing to declare, but it's a much better homecoming than it once was.
And there was nothing quite like being on the spot in India to watch that whitewash. Yes, the whitewash.
Perhaps the greatest achievement in men's cricket in this country ever, and right up there in all sport. It's such a damn hard thing to do, especially when they do all they can to manicure their own backyard to stop you.
And watching through Kingfisher-blurred eyes as Sophie Devine and her ladies did the almost unthinkable, winning the T20 World Cup on the back of the worst form line in history heading into it was quite the achievement, and quite the time to be a Kiwi cricket fan.
I'm also happy to eat all the humble pie Mitchell Santner wants to dish up to me, providing it doesn't take another 29 Tests to savour that astonishment - I say with a pause. I've given up making predictions after this month.
But I will say, I reckon we have a really top Test cricket captain in the making. The best for some time.
Tom Latham is smart. He's patient. He's absorbent and calculating. He wins the odd vital toss, which is hugely important, and then capitalises, and that's always very, very handy.
And for me, Will Young has to have a place in the top six – probably at No. 3. Seldom have I seen a more organised New Zealand batsman in those trying conditions. He does not deserve to be left out and neither should he be.
The TV commentary team I was a part of were given the responsibility of deciding on the match and series awards. I can assure you; Young was a unanimous choice for player of the series.
To leave him out would be testament to leaving out someone who's just got ten wickets in an innings. So, I'm not saying it won't happen. But it shouldn't.
When India great Sunil Gavaskar says Young is his choice, that's good enough for me. 'That kid looks so organised. I think he's a player for the future.' That'll do me.
Latham, Williamson, Young, Ravindra – they're four of your top six. You can pick the rest. That's the way I see it.
*Tune into Ian Smith on SENZ Mornings 9am-midday weekdays except Thursdays.*
There's nothing like flying into Auckland on a sunny morning and touching down to a massively improved immigration system. Hats off to them. Nothing to declare, but it's a much better homecoming than it once was.
And there was nothing quite like being on the spot in India to watch that whitewash. Yes, the whitewash.
Perhaps the greatest achievement in men's cricket in this country ever, and right up there in all sport. It's such a damn hard thing to do, especially when they do all they can to manicure their own backyard to stop you.
And watching through Kingfisher-blurred eyes as Sophie Devine and her ladies did the almost unthinkable, winning the T20 World Cup on the back of the worst form line in history heading into it was quite the achievement, and quite the time to be a Kiwi cricket fan.
I'm also happy to eat all the humble pie Mitchell Santner wants to dish up to me, providing it doesn't take another 29 Tests to savour that astonishment - I say with a pause. I've given up making predictions after this month.
But I will say, I reckon we have a really top Test cricket captain in the making. The best for some time.
Tom Latham is smart. He's patient. He's absorbent and calculating. He wins the odd vital toss, which is hugely important, and then capitalises, and that's always very, very handy.
And for me, Will Young has to have a place in the top six – probably at No. 3. Seldom have I seen a more organised New Zealand batsman in those trying conditions. He does not deserve to be left out and neither should he be.
The TV commentary team I was a part of were given the responsibility of deciding on the match and series awards. I can assure you; Young was a unanimous choice for player of the series.
To leave him out would be testament to leaving out someone who's just got ten wickets in an innings. So, I'm not saying it won't happen. But it shouldn't.
When India great Sunil Gavaskar says Young is his choice, that's good enough for me. 'That kid looks so organised. I think he's a player for the future.' That'll do me.
Latham, Williamson, Young, Ravindra – they're four of your top six. You can pick the rest. That's the way I see it.
*Tune into Ian Smith on SENZ Mornings 9am-midday weekdays except Thursdays.*
