England's next opener? Durham's Gay stakes his claim

Liked by Flintoff & different to Crawley - is Gay England's next opener?Image source, Getty ImagesByMatthew HenryBBC Sport JournalistPublished28 April 2026, 10:13 BST350 CommentsUpdated 2 hours agoThe understated clench of a gloved fist and casual wave of the bat when reaching three figures did not hint at the significance of the moment, nor the repeat after flicking the runs to seal Durham's victory.But Emilio Gay's 159 not out may be the most consequential performance of this weekend in the County Championship.It sealed a brilliant win against his side's Division Two title rivals Lancashire - it completed the third highest run-chase in Durham's first-class history - but also meant, for the second time this season, Gay ensured his name is the one being spoken about.If the subplot to these early season rounds is the contest to unseat Zak Crawley as England's Test opener, after captain Ben Stokes encouraged county players to demand selection with their form, then Gay has staked his claim. His century was his second in three matches this season. He could not have done much more to this point to answer Stokes' call.Gay may have been batting at number three against Lancashire, as he has done almost exclusively since moving from Northamptonshire before the start of last season, but he remains an opener by trade.His place as Durham's number three is a happy compromise, given the county has captain Alex Lees, a former England opener, and the highly-rated Ben McKinney in its ranks.He opened for his school, in club cricket, for Northants and, significantly, for England Lions in Australia last winter where he had moderate success before a hamstring injury curtailed his tour. As the Lions shadowed the first XI's Ashes shellacking, Gay returned scores of 56 not out against the Prime Ministers' XI and 78 against a Cricket Australia XI in Perth.Lions head coach Andrew Flintoff is known to be a big fan."I know there's going to be a lot of talk about him," said Durham's coach Ryan Campbell after the Lancashire win. "All we're talking about is him playing for Durham."He was disappointed with his shot in the first innings when he'd done the hard work and he could've cashed in. This time he did."The first-innings dismissal Campbell mentions was a loose drive to Lancashire seamer Tom Bailey which resulted in an edge being caught at slip. Some would say it was Crawley-esque.But Gay, who has played for Italy in three T20s having qualified through his maternal grandfather and is also eligible for West Indies via his paternal grandparents, appears to have the all-round game to suit England in their rebirth under Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum. His team-mate McKinney, another tipped for Crawley's spot after his 244 against Gloucestershire last week, may have more eye-catching attacking power but Gay has the more balanced set-up. He mixes classical strokes with a hint of flair and a solid-looking defence.Gay's two centuries this year, the first of which came on the season's opening day, follow four in Division One in Durham's relegation season last year. One of those in 2025 came against champions Nottinghamshire and another against Surrey, who finished second."Is he good enough? Quite possibly," said BBC Newcastle commentator Martin Emmerson, who has watched Gay throughout his Durham career."Consistency is key, though. While he scored nearly 1,000 runs in Division One last season, there were also five ducks early in the year."Gay will have three more…

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