Will Young

Although he has more often than not been the injury replacement for an established player, Young has made those opportunities count and continuously bounced back from the disappointment of having to make way once the player recovered.

Having captained New Zealand to the Under-19 World Cup semi-finals in 2012, Young quickly established himself in domestic cricket, scoring 909 runs in the 2014-15 Plunket Shield and helping Central Districts to successive titles in 2017-18 and 2018-19. Yet injuries and selection setbacks repeatedly delayed his international breakthrough.

A top-order batter, Young has a range of drives, flowing through the shot despite a pronounced bottom-hand influence. He is comfortable playing off both the front and back foot and has developed into an accomplished player of spin, handy with both the sweep and reverse-sweep. His adaptability was evident in India in 2024, where he combined defence with attacking strokes to score 244 runs and win the Player-of-the-Series award in New Zealand's historic 3-0 Test whitewash.

Young made his Test debut at home against West Indies in 2020 and has since produced notable innings in Tests in England and India as well as in the Champions Trophy in Pakistan and for several teams in the County Championship. His 89 in Kanpur in 2021 highlighted the lessons he had learned during a 2017 stint in Chennai working on his sweep.

He has also done well in ODIs, scoring centuries against Netherlands and Pakistan and 87 in India when, in 2026, New Zealand won their first ODI series in the country. He was named the men's ODI Player of the Year in New Zealand Cricket's 2022 awards. In the opening game of the 2025 Champions Trophy, Young, who might not have played with Rachin Ravindra had been fit, mixed aggression and caution to score his maiden overseas international hundred. In February 2026, Young scored 157 to take Central Districts to the Ford Trophy title against Canterbury, two days after he had made 105 in the elimination final against Wellington.