WILL YOUNG was eight years old when the BLACKCAPS saw off Zimbabwe, Pakistan and India to win their first major ICC tournament, 25 years ago. The magic of that Champions Trophy run instilled a drive in him to make it to the top.

A quarter of a century later, Young is following in the footsteps of his first cricketing heroes as he and his teammates prepare to face India again, in the 2025 Champions Trophy final in Dubai.

“There were some iconic names in that squad 25 years ago and those are the ones plenty of guys in our current squad looked up to, back in the day,” says Young.

Young set the tone for New Zealand’s campaign in the present day with a ton in the BLACKCAPS' first game of the tournament when they beat host Pakistan.

Fellow opener Rachin Ravindra has notched two centuries of his own, in New Zealand’s group stage wins over Bangladesh, and their semi-final triumph over South Africa.

The only blot on the copybook is the group stage defeat to Sunday’s opponent, India.

But Young sees it from a positive angle: “It was a great opportunity to see the style of cricket they will bring, especially at that venue and in those conditions," he says.

“There's plenty we can take from that from a scouting point of view, especially in my eyes, as a batter. I'm sure the bowlers got a good look at their batters as well, and how they are likely to approach things.

“There’s been some great battles with India in recent history, including the World Test Championship, and the 2023 World Cup semi-final. We’ve had some great games against them.

“But to be honest, it is who will show up on the day - you can’t be too stuck in the past.

“We’ll look to be able to adjust and adapt to whatever challenges are in front of us on Sunday, and hope the game we’ve got and the nerve that we hold will be enough.”

And yep, those old heroes cross his mind, still.

"It's cool to be trying to achieve the same thing as they did, 25 years later. I was eight years old at the time, and just starting to fall in love with the game so I'm well aware of New Zealand’s exploits in that 2000 tournament, and it was fantastic to see them win.

“Thinking back to before we boarded the plane to come over here, we had an unveiling of the Champions Trophy squad. Scott Styris was there that day, and told a few stories about the team, and their exploits in that tournament.

“It was cool to recognise the past, and, that New Zealand has done this before. 

"It's just about passing the baton, and hopefully we can emulate them in a couple of days.”

Article added: Saturday 8 March 2025