Emilio Gay: What could Durham opener bring to England team?
Gay’s two centuries this year, the first coming on the opening day of the season, were followed by his fourth century in Division One during Durham’s relegation season last year.
One of these came in 2025 against champions Nottinghamshire and the other against runners-up Surrey.
BBC Newcastle pundit Martin Emmerson, who has watched Gay throughout his Durham career, said: “Is he good enough? Most likely.”
“Consistency is key, though. We scored nearly 1,000 runs in Division One last season, while also having five ducks earlier in the year.”
Gay will play three more Championship matches to further his case before the England hierarchy meet to select their squad for the first Test of the summer season against New Zealand on June 4.
He will have Stokes in the dressing room for the last two of those matches, against Worcestershire and on the return to Kent, assuming the all-rounder’s recovery from cheek surgery continues as planned.
There are also two four-day Lions matches against South Africa A scheduled for late May, with England’s players coming together for a camp in the week in between.
The choices there can reveal many things.
The Lions debut could be when England’s 22-year-old left-hander James Rew gets his wish to face the new ball.
With his 379 runs at an average of 75.80, he is another of the standout candidates despite being in the middle order for Somerset. It is beyond belief that Rew, Gay and McKinney lined up against the Proteas’ second string.
At the weekend, Haseeb Hameed and Dom Sibley, two openers from England’s past awaiting recall, also created centuries, further muddying the selection waters.
It doesn’t help that England’s national selector position remains vacant – having reached the second stage of the recruitment process – but it remains difficult to find context in the county batting performance at the start of the season, given the lack of resemblance to the pace and bounce found at Test level.
This is only multiplied when the runs continue, as they did over this weekend when all four Division One matches ended in high-scoring draws.
For all the talk of adapting, England remain keen on batsmen who can put the best bowlers under pressure and step up to the biggest stage.
What will catch your eye more? Sibley’s 101 from 283 balls in Surrey’s stalemate against Essex or Gay, who prevented James Anderson and much-admired seamer Mitch Stanley to drag Durham from staring down heavy defeat to victory.
Conversely, Gay’s runs came in the minor leagues as Lancashire’s attack tired after four matches in four weeks, with Bailey putting an end to the bowling’s cyclical turn after Lancashire’s request for an injury replacement was rejected.
It’s hard to find context, but Gay could have done a little more.
