Young was born in London, and was a slow left-arm
spin bowler, who relied on accuracy and a flat delivery rather than flight. He was on the staff at Middlesex for much of the 1930s, but only came to the fore after
World War II. In 1947, he took more than 150 wickets as Middlesex, led by the batting of
Denis Compton,
Bill Edrich and
Jack Robertson, won the
County Championship, and he repeated the feat two years later when the Championship was shared with
Yorkshire. He also took more than 150 wickets in 1951 and 1952, so that, when he retired from injury after just three matches in the 1956 season, he had taken more than 1,300 wickets in ten seasons at an average of less than 20 runs per wicket. Young played
Test cricket for England eight times between 1947 and 1949, but took only 17 wickets in those games. Though his accuracy made him economical, and he bowled eleven consecutive
maiden overs on his home Test debut at
Trent Bridge against the 1948
Australians Don Bradman and
Lindsay Hassett, then a world-record return, he appeared to lack the penetration to trouble the best batsmen. He was also perhaps unlucky in selection policies: in 1948, he played the first, third and fifth Tests and was omitted from the chosen 12 at
Headingley, where the pitch for the fourth Test might have suited him better. His tally of 1,182 wickets for Middlesex is bettered by only
Fred Titmus and
Jim Sims since World War II. ==References==