With another elegant flick off his pads, Durham’s Emilio Gay wheeled away to celebrate the first century of the 2026 county season.
Watching this latest episode of “The Great British Bat Off” from the slips was Kent’s Zak Crawley, the under-pressure England opener. Gay is among those challenging for Crawley’s position, despite batting at No 3 for Durham and being an Italy international.
Yes, a prime contender to open for England already plays for Italy.
Gay is Bedford born and bred, but his maternal grandfather came to the UK from Montefalcione, near Naples. Gareth Berg, Italy’s coach, was a team-mate of Gay’s at Northamptonshire and invited him to join their ensemble of imports chasing Twenty20 World Cup qualification. Seeking short-form experience, he played three matches last summer, including scoring a crucial fifty in the win over Scotland that helped Italy achieve their goal.
Gay, who turns 26 next week, missed the tournament – where Italy faced England – having suffered a hamstring injury while on England Lions duty in Australia. It was a strange situation: an injury playing for England’s second-string ruled him out of playing against England, but has allowed him to focus on his ultimate goal of playing for England.
‘Italy was never the priority. It has always been England’
“I was really looking forward to the World Cup,” Gay tells Telegraph Sport. “You never know if that’ll be your only opportunity gone, so I was disappointed. If I had played and tweaked it [his hamstring], I would have required surgery. I wanted to give myself the best chance to be fit for Durham, and put my name out there to be playing Test cricket for England.
“I am so grateful for the opportunities Italy have given me. But not being disrespectful to my commitments to Italy, and they know this, it was never the priority. It was trying to help that team succeed but also get more white-ball cricket under my belt against good opposition, and have some fun and new experiences. The priority has always been England. There has never been confusion there.”
As Italy are an associate member of the International Cricket Council, Gay is able to play for them while he chases his England dream. However, if capped by England, he would face a three-year stand-down period with Italy.
Recovery from his hamstring injury gave Gay plenty of time to think. He sat down with Jack Mousley, his batting coach since he was 18, and mapped out the year ahead. Lions selection suggested it was time to bang down the England door.
Test cricket
Will Macpherson
Deputy Cricket Correspondent Will Macpherson
Will Macpherson covers the international and domestic game, and is based in London. See more
Published 09 April 2026 11:00am BST
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County Championship, England Cricket Team, Durham CCC
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Emilio Gay
Emilio Gay scored the first century of the 2026 county cricket season Credit: Stu Forster/Getty Images
With another elegant flick off his pads, Durham’s Emilio Gay wheeled away to celebrate the first century of the 2026 county season.
Watching this latest episode of “The Great British Bat Off” from the slips was Kent’s Zak Crawley, the under-pressure England opener. Gay is among those challenging for Crawley’s position, despite batting at No 3 for Durham and being an Italy international.
Yes, a prime contender to open for England already plays for Italy.
Gay is Bedford born and bred, but his maternal grandfather came to the UK from Montefalcione, near Naples. Gareth Berg, Italy’s coach, was a team-mate of Gay’s at Northamptonshire and invited him to join their ensemble of imports chasing Twenty20 World Cup qualification. Seeking short-form experience, he played three matches last summer, including scoring a crucial fifty in the win over Scotland that helped Italy achieve their goal.
Gay, who turns 26 next week, missed the tournament – where Italy faced England – having suffered a hamstring injury while on England Lions duty in Australia. It was a strange situation: an injury playing for England’s second-string ruled him out of playing against England, but has allowed him to focus on his ultimate goal of playing for England.
‘Italy was never the priority. It has always been England’
“I was really looking forward to the World Cup,” Gay tells Telegraph Sport. “You never know if that’ll be your only opportunity gone, so I was disappointed. If I had played and tweaked it [his hamstring], I would have required surgery. I wanted to give myself the best chance to be fit for Durham, and put my name out there to be playing Test cricket for England.
“I am so grateful for the opportunities Italy have given me. But not being disrespectful to my commitments to Italy, and they know this, it was never the priority. It was trying to help that team succeed but also get more white-ball cricket under my belt against good opposition, and have some fun and new experiences. The priority has always been England. There has never been confusion there.”
As Italy are an associate member of the International Cricket Council, Gay is able to play for them while he chases his England dream. However, if capped by England, he would face a three-year stand-down period with Italy.
Recovery from his hamstring injury gave Gay plenty of time to think. He sat down with Jack Mousley, his batting coach since he was 18, and mapped out the year ahead. Lions selection suggested it was time to bang down the England door.
“You picture scoring a hundred in the first game,” he says. “But a year ago I started with a pair for my new club, and felt like the worst player in the world. This time you feel on top of the world. That’s the game. It’s nice to get one away early, and I felt fluent in tough conditions.
“Last year I was thinking about Lions [selection], scoring quickly, doing this or that. When you think about that stuff, it’s a slippery slope, because you go away from watching the ball and performing your best. On Friday I had no interest in scoring quickly. I wanted to bat, and make good decisions. My best place is being present and helping Durham win. If I keep doing that, I will have to be close [to England].
“I am a real cricket badger and I’ve grown up obsessed with the game, looking up to so many players. Brian Lara, Virat Kohli, then Alastair Cook, who also went to my school and was an opener. At times I’ve tried to copy things from all of them, but that’s meant I’ve not had a blueprint of how I want to play. This last year I have been myself, finding the method that works for me.”
So, on to his style. Gay’s paternal grandparents come from the beautiful island of Grenada, and some of his earliest cricketing influences are Caribbean. There are flashes of flair in his strokeplay, combined with that Bedford School English classicism.
“I have more shots now than three years ago,” he says. “I flicked off my pads and had a bunt through the off side. I didn’t play the short ball particularly well. But now I like to remind myself of the gritty side. You can’t always play all the shots you want to. I want to put bowlers under pressure, but opening in England is hard and it’s a balance.
“Last year I felt I played some shots way too early, when the conditions weren’t correct for the big booming cover drive. I remember playing Matt Henry and second ball tried to drive him. It was not smart cricket. I’ve learnt from that and want to be a guy who peels off a hundred when you’re not at your best. If I turn up on Friday at Bristol and I’m feeling horrendous, can I find a way to grind out fifty, then turn it into a hundred?”
Gay describes his experiences with the Lions in the last year as “eye-opening”.
“The scrutiny of performances from Aussie fans, the number of English fans out there, turning up to train and seeing all the media there, all of that was new to me,” he says.
“I was netting next to Joe Root. I had never really met him, and all of a sudden we are standing next to each other and wearing the same kit. It was a great experience and made me a better player as well, being exposed to different conditions and different players. We had a good seven or eight weeks, with Freddie Flintoff and [batting coach] Neil McKenzie, so I could really tune in, pick their brains and be as much of a sponge as I could for weeks on end. It was great fun. I didn’t want it to end.”
Gay says the same about an England and Wales Cricket Board spin camp with Kumar Sangakkara last summer: “I came back feeling my mindset and attitude against spin had taken a big turn, feeling so much more positive and confident.”
‘I want to be in the position where they have to pick me’
Gay joined Durham from Northamptonshire at the end of 2024, taking inspiration from Ben Duckett’s move to Nottinghamshire. In his first season, Gay scored more than 1,000 first-class runs, including four centuries and a 99, but could not prevent a shock relegation. He has largely batted at No 3, with captain Alex Lees and another England aspirant Ben McKinney up top, but Gay considers himself an opener.