Come in Youngman
New Zealand will enter the first cricket test of the summer without three first-choice players after it was confirmed yesterday that Will Young will make his long-awaited debut.
The 28-year-old will open the batting with Tom Latham for the Black Caps against the West Indies in Hamilton today in the place of injured wicketkeeper BJ Watling.
Tom Blundell, who opened in the last two home tests against India earlier this year, will keep wicket in place of Watling and will move down the batting order.
Watling suffered a hamstring injury playing for Northern Districts in the Ford Trophy one-day competition on Sunday and didn’t take part in training on eve of the test in his hometown, although he could be fit to play the second test starting in Wellington on December 11.
Williamson said it was ‘‘obviously a really special occasion for [Young]’’.
‘‘It’s an exciting opportunity for him and I know he’s looking forward to getting involved after some near opportunities that didn’t eventuate.’’
Young was set to make his debut in March 2019 against Bangladesh at Hagley Oval in Christchurch, but that match was cancelled in the wake of the mosque shootings.
Young’s debut comes off the back of two matches for New Zealand A against the tourists, including one that concluded on Sunday, where he made 133.
Williamson said the Black Caps were yet to finalise their playing XI, but confirmed Devon Conway – who excelled in his first two Twenty20 matches for his adopted country – would not be involved after being called up as injury cover on Tuesday.
New Zealand had already made two changes to the initial squad for the two tests against the Windies when all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme and left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel were unable to overcome injuries.
A decision will be made tomorrow over the Black Caps’ bowling lineup, with all-rounders Daryl Mitchell and Mitchell Santner and pacemen Trent Boult, Kyle Jamieson, Tim Southee and Neil Wagner vying for five spots.
Discipline and execution is what can halt a 25-year winless run for the West Indies, says skipper Jason Holder.
The last time a New Zealand test cricket side lost to the Windies at home was in Wellington in 1995 – and quite some defeat it was; New Zealand’s innings and 322 run hammering is the second-worst in their test history stretching 91 years.
It’s also a long time since the West Indies have fielded an XI containing superstars of the likes of Brian Lara, Courtney Walsh, Curtly Ambrose and Shivnarine Chanderpaul.
Since then, the hosts have won eight of the 12 tests between the two sides in this country – three times by an innings, once by eight wickets and once by 240 runs (the last meeting, at Seddon Park in Hamilton three years ago).
The tourists weren’t even able to win the 1999 test in Hamilton after winning the toss, batting first, putting on an opening partnership worth 276 and ending day one 282-1.
But Holder is ready for his troops to halt that slide.
‘‘The last tour we had here, we were outplayed and it’s a perfect opportunity – pretty much the nucleus of the squad is similar.
‘‘Our A game has to be good enough to beat their A game.
‘‘Where we fell down in the past is execution. In the past we could have the best of plans but if you don’t go and execute them then it all falls begging,’’ Holder said.
‘‘What is crucial for us is getting through tough periods.
‘‘In the past we’ve had periods in which we’ve really faltered and lost test matches. If we have less of those periods, we stand a better chance of beating opposition teams.’’
Forget what minimal impact you saw from the West Indies in the T20 series – their test squad is vastly different.
The tourists showed their capabilities with the bat in two warmup matches against NZ A in Queenstown.
Classy left-hander Darren Bravomade 135 in his first bat fol
‘‘In the past we’ve had periods in which we’ve really faltered and lost test matches.’’
Jason Holder, right
lowing managed isolation while in the second encounter, opener Kraigg Brathwaite made his highest first-class score with 246 as he batted for over nine hours.
However, doubts arise over how much those performances on
a good batting deck against a lim- ited NZ A bowling attack will count when the first test begins at 11am today on a wicket that looked very green a day out.
‘‘The guys had to toil – whether it be toil and graft for runs or whether it be toil in the field and pretty much stack up overs,’’ Holder said of the benefits of their two Queenstown outings.
‘‘It was a very flat surface, pretty much nothing in any bowler’s favour.
‘‘We need to stress discipline – it was really good to see the guys come back in the second game and be a lot more disciplined and there was time in the middle for all our batsmen.
‘‘I’m not sure how similar the conditions will be here in Hamilton,’’ Holder laughed as he mentioned how he saw the test wicket from a distance yesterday but couldn’t really differentiate the pitch from the actual outfield.
‘‘Traditionally Hamilton has been pretty flat.
‘‘You may see it pretty green in New Zealand conditions on the first day but it becomes pretty brown as the game goes on quite quickly.’’