Craig Alexander Young (born April 4, 1990) is an Irish cricketer. Young is a right-handed batsman who bowls medium pace with his right arm. Young made his first-class debut for Ireland against Scotland on May 26, 2013.

He made his One Day International debut against Scotland in September 2014, taking 5 wickets for 45 runs. He made his Twenty20 International debut on June 18, 2015, against Scotland. In December 2018, Young was one of nineteen players to receive a central contract from Cricket Ireland for the 2019 season.

In January 2020, he was one of nineteen players to receive a central contract from Cricket Ireland, the first year in which all contracts were awarded on a full-time basis.

Domestic career

Young played for the Bready Cricket Club in the North West Senior League as a medium-paced bowler. After playing for the Irish U19 national cricket team at the 2010 ICC U19 Cricket World Cup, where he won nine wickets, Young was awarded a one-year contract by Sussex for 2010. A series of injuries prevented him from making a meaningful impression, and much of his cricket for Sussex came for the county's second team.

He made his first-rate debut in an ICC Intercontinental Cup for Ireland against Scotland in late 2013, winning four wickets in the first innings and two in the second during an inning win for Ireland.

Early the following year, a few months after his release from Sussex, Young was signed to Ireland as a Category "A" player, the highest tier contract, and made his one-day debut for the team shortly thereafter, albeit not in a full international. In July 2019, Young was selected to play for the Belfast Titans in the first edition of the Euro T20 slam cricket tournament. However, the following month the tournament was canceled.

International career

Young made his One Day International debut for Ireland in September 2014, becoming the ninth player to take five wickets on the ODI debut. That remains his best performance for Ireland in ODIs. When Ireland beat the United Arab Emirates in the 2015 ICC Intercontinental Cup, Young had his best numbers in a first-class game, collecting four wickets in the first innings and three in the second in a big win for his team.

In September 2019, Young was named to the Irish squad for the 2019 ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier tournament in the United Arab Emirates. On July 10, 2020, Young was called up to the 21-strong Irish squad to travel to England to practice behind closed doors for the ODI series against the English cricket team.

In September 2021, Young was named to Ireland's provisional squad for the ICC T20 World Cup 2021.