Craig Young

Emerging from the 2010 U-19 World Cup, Craig Young has been a vital cog in the fast-bowling department for Ireland since his debut in 2014. Young is tall, fierce, quick, bouncy, and deceptive - in short, he has all the ingredients to become a fantastic seamer. 

The pacer hogged the limelight after his 5 for 22 in the European Championships against Guernsey in 2009 that led to the selection for the U-19 World Cup of 2010 where he scalped 9 wickets from 5 games and unarguably the finest from his country. 

In 2010, the Irishman was contracted by Sussex with a one-year deal, however, a series of injuries derailed Young’s career a bit. The speedster made his first-class debut for Ireland against Scotland during the Intercontinental Cup in September 2013 which led to a national call-up. 

Young made his ODI debut against Scotland and shone like a star after scalping a fifer on his debut. The right-armer was selected for the World Cup of 2015 to fill the vacant boots of Boyd Rankin. A year later, the pacer was on the flight to India for the first group round of the World T20.

The Londonderry-born called for the one-off Test against Pakistan in 2018, however couldn’t make his debut in the longest format then and received a called-up for the Lord’s Test against England but wasn’t fortunate enough yet again. 

In 2019, Young represented Ireland during the World T20 Qualifiers held in UAE and was one of his country’s top wicket-taker. Young’s 4 for 13 against Nigeria was the top talking point during the tournament, however, he could take his team to the final of the Qualifiers. 

Young is one of the most promising pacers from Ireland who is a three-format prospect. He has pace and bounce that makes him one of the most vital cogs in the Ireland team. Young is also a useful lower-order hitter fond of clubbing the ball to midwicket. However, he needs to work on his fitness level to prolong his career. 

(As of April 2021)