Mumbai: New Zealand batter Will Young was instrumental in helping the visitors construct their innings during their historic series sweep against India and the batter revealed he knows the feeling of running drinks.
"Since my debut about four years back, I've been in and out because of form, selection etc. I've been a reserve batter for a number of years now. I've come to know the feeling of running the drinks very well. I'm excited to go out and play in my own way and not to try and replace Kane. Play my own game and see this as a great opportunity,” he added.
Player of the Series! Will Young making vital contributions with the bat across the series along with taking four catches. Young finished as the third highest run scorer (244) in the series and had the second best average (48.80). Scorecard | https://t.co/n3NP5L6TgD #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/kNI2g0tawo
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) November 3, 2024
Young stated he also prepared hard for the tough Indian assignment which they have now passed with flying colours.
"Around one game back from Sri Lanka, we were in India playing against Afghanistan in Noida. Although the outfield is really wet, we could still train on that block and we went to Sri Lanka and played two Test matches in Galle which we lost. We had very good nets there and playing cricket in India is always exciting. So I came well prepared.”
Will Young on Kane Williamson's contribution in his success
However, the young lad was quick to acknowledge the role played by the veteran Williamson in New Zealand's training camps back home. "Unfortunately, Kane's not here and if he was, he'd be a great person to lean into and to ask what he thinks in certain situations. We also had three really good camps leading into the series back home and he was at those camps.”
"But it's great at the moment because we've got fantastic batters all throughout our line-up and they've all got slightly different methods and on the day you've just got to pick what method you think will work and you've got to have the courage to back that and show your skills."
"Yeah, I try not to bat like Kane. I try to bat like me and do it my own way," he added.
Coming to India and batting on spinning tracks is always a daunting challenge for any visiting team, New Zealand passed that test quite reasonably which ensured they won the series with a historic sweep. "If you look at all three matches, there were different challenges in each. In Bangalore, a lot of wickets fell to spin, and then (in) Pune and Mumbai it was a lot more challenging against spin."