Black Caps batter Will Young will finally get a chance to play in the series against England. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
If Black Caps batter Will Young feels aggrieved at not having got a crack against England in the first two tests of the series he's not showing it.
Despite being the player of the series in the historic three-nil series win over India last month, Young hasn't been required for the two tests in Christchurch and Wellington.
That's about to change however, as Young will open the batting in the third test in Hamilton starting on Saturday with regular opener Devon Conway missing the match due to the birth of his first child.
Young only got to play in India as Kane Williamson missed the series due to injury and he remains pragmatic about having to sit out the losses against England.
"The nature of test cricket is that the balance of the side can change a lot (depending) on conditions - home tests, away tests and having one of New Zealand's absolute greats in Kane coming back was always going to be a headache, so I was prepared to be back carrying the drinks and that's what transpired," he said.
"But as I've always said I'll wait in the wings for my opportunity and thankfully one has come here in this last test against England."
In the bulk of the 19 tests he has played since making his debut four years ago Young has opened the batting and has no qualms about filling the roll again.
"I know what it is like at the top. It can certainly be challenging but if you do get through that hard phase at the top, you can get in and set up a good total, so I am looking forward to slotting back in and showing what I can do."
The Black Caps are determined to give Tim Southee a winning send-off. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
The 32 year old is yet to score a test century. He has brought up nine half centuries with a top score of 89 and has an average of a tick over 30.
His test average is higher when he bats down the order but he was unfazed.
"You can highlight all sorts of different stats and at the end of the day I haven't played that many tests so it is a small sample size and data can skew, but it's not great numbers at the top so I would certainly like to improve those."
Young made his test debut at Seddon Park in Hamilton, the venue for this weekend's test, and while the series is lost Young said the match was far from a dead rubber.
"The boys are disappointed and they are hurting, especially given there has been a whole lot of support from the home fans and they have come out in the droves ..so there is plenty of resolve there... We want to send (retiring) Tim Southee off in style and also simply for our own pride we want to end the series on a high by winning the test match."
-RNZ
