![Nat Young is off to South Africa in November with the Australian intellectual disabilty side. Picture by Gareth Gardner Nat Young is off to South Africa in November with the Australian intellectual disabilty side. Picture by Gareth Gardner](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/ingYyB85ps4jmG9t8mfsHP/414cbe8f-44c4-426a-9cfc-8bd7f6c1dad0.jpg/r0_217_7510_4456_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"You couldn't get the smile off his face".
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That's how Mark Young described son Nat's reaction to learning that he had made the Australian intellectual disability side to tour South Africa in November.
It will be the second time the South Tamworth allrounder, who celebrates his 31st birthday on Sunday, has padded up for his country, but first time that he has travelled overseas to play cricket.
"He's incredibly excited," Mark said.
"Representing your country is great at any time.
"But to be able to go on a tour overseas is just another level."
As he was for the series against England in 2022, the only NSW player selected in what is a relatively unchanged squad - there are only three changes - Nat put himself in calculations as their leading runscorer at the nationals earlier in the year.
But, as Mark said, you can never take selection in an Australian team for granted.
The first international tour the ID side has embarked on since 2017, they will play six Twenty20 matches as part of a tri-series with the host nation and England.
The carrot dangling of an overseas trip, Mark said Nat has worked "incredibly hard" over the off-season.
![Nat (third from left) finished runner-up in the Division 1 nett competition at the NSW Inclusive Championships. Picture Golf NSW Nat (third from left) finished runner-up in the Division 1 nett competition at the NSW Inclusive Championships. Picture Golf NSW](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/ingYyB85ps4jmG9t8mfsHP/c96f9c0b-e32b-432b-a2d3-b511923a5166.jpg/r0_0_1920_1079_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
At least once a week he's been training with South Tamworth stalwart John Killborn. On top of that, for the last month or so he's also been doing some work with Trent Weir, who has held coaching positions with Cricket NSW.
"He's (Weir) taken it to another level in terms of specific areas to target," Mark said.
He also earlier this month travelled down to Adelaide for a training camp with the squad, which he "just loved".
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Last year just meeting up a few days before the England series, speaking on Vision Australia Radio following the Adelaide camp Australian coach John Lonergan spoke about being conscious of treating them like elite athletes.
"That's a big focus for us, making sure we treat them as high performance athletes," he said.
"They're representing their country. There's only nine cricket teams that get to do that and they're one of them."
![Pulling on the green and gold last year was one of the highlights of Nat Young's life. Picture Cricket Australia Pulling on the green and gold last year was one of the highlights of Nat Young's life. Picture Cricket Australia](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/ingYyB85ps4jmG9t8mfsHP/f17e04a9-308a-45d0-9068-6cf6fbb2114e.jpg/r0_0_1017_678_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The best period in his career, Mark said being involved with the NSW team the last couple of years and now the Australian team, he's seen Nat's confidence in his ability only grow.
That has flowed onto his performances in the local Tamworth competition. Last season he made his first grade debut for his beloved Souths and was the fifth highest run-scorer in second grade with 268 runs at an average of 24.36.
Naturally he's itching to get into the 2023-2024 season. Fortunately he's only got a week now to wait.
"That's going to be a good advantage (for the tour) getting to play some cricket," Mark said, with the England series played in June.
Also a handy golfer, Nat went virtually straight from the airport, returning from Adelaide, to Wollongong for the 2023 NSW Inclusive Championships.
Playing in Division 1, he went on to finish runner-up in the nett competition by one shot after carding +1 for the tournament.
He departs for South Africa on November 8.
He has also been fortunate to secure a two-year contract deal with online cricket store Whacksports.