Emilio Gay: New England opener drove from Durham to Bedford to tell parents the news about call-up
On the day he learned he would be England’s new opener, Emilio Gay drove from Durham to Bedford to tell his family about his first international call-up.
The 26-year-old Durham batsman received a call at 8am BST from local cricket manager and New England national selector Marcus North, who told the left-hander he was in the squad to play New Zealand at Lord’s on June 4.
“It actually kind of woke me up,” Gay told BBC Radio 5 Live.
Instead of calling his family to tell them the news, Gay decided to hop in the car on his way to the County Championship match against Kent at Beckenham on Friday.
“I didn’t really want to call them because we’ve been through so much,” Gay said. “I thought I should be there to tell them. I went back to Bedford.
“My brother caught it on video and it was a moment I’ll never forget. It was a truly beautiful day.”
Gay’s mother is Italian, which enabled him to qualify to play in three T20 internationals for Italy last year.
His father’s family hails from Grenada, and it was a trip to the Caribbean in 2007, when the West Indies were hosting the World Cup, that sparked Gay’s love of cricket. He even got a signed shirt from former Windies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo.
“I fell in love with the game because of my father’s family roots in the Caribbean,” Gay said.
“That’s exactly how I got into it when I was seven and from there it just built and built. I dreamed of one day being called up to play for England and that day has come today.”
Like Sir Alastair Cook, the most successful opener to play for England, Gay is a former pupil of Bedford School.
He started his professional career with Northamptonshire and transferred to Durham last season. He is an expert opener at his profession and usually bats at three for the north-east region.
Although Gay is one of two uncapped batsmen in the England squad for the first Test against New Zealand, along with Somerset’s James Rew, director of cricket Rob Key confirmed it would be against the Black Caps at Lord’s, with Gay opening.
He will replace Zak Crawley, who was dropped following the 4-1 Ashes defeat in Australia.
Crawley’s omission had been expected for some time, as Gay’s triple century at the start of the new County Championship season thrust him into the spotlight.
