Could a current Italy international play in England’s next test match?
Durham’s Emilio Gay will certainly be hoping the left-hander is looking to enter Ben Stokes’ red ball in 2025 and focus on improving his game in white to do so.
Bedford-born Gay qualifies for Italy through his mother and made four 50-over appearances for the Azzurri in November, hitting half-centuries in each with a top score of 96 against Tanzania.
Gay moved to Durham on loan in 2024 ahead of a permanent move in the winter
As Italy is not a full member of the ICC, those appearances will not stop him from representing his native England, and the top player is disappointed he has not done so already.
Gay collected 1,019 county caps in 2024, scoring 919 in 10 games for Northamptonshire in Division Two, then another 100 in two First Division games for Durham, a team he initially joined on loan before making a permanent move in the winter.
The highlight was an innings of 261 for Northans against Middlesex.
However, with England needing extra batting in New Zealand due to Jamie Smith’s paternity leave, Gay was overlooked in favor of Jacob Bethel, a player with zero red-ball hundreds compared to Gay’s six, and who had scored just 466 first-class runs this summer.
Gay is disappointed not to be involved with England
Bethel, of course. showed the supreme talent he possesses against the blackcapsbatting three half-centuries away from No. 3 and looking every inch the Test player, but Zach Crowley’s lack of form at the top of the order could have given Gay a sniff.
So where does he think he stands on the tangent?
The 24-year-old gay man told Sky Sports“(England men’s selector) Luke Wright approached me about the Lions in August. I think I just missed the red ball game against Sri Lanka.
“I’m an honest man and naturally I’m disappointed not to be involved in any squad or Lions tours with England this winter.
“I’m aware they’ve gone a little bit differently with the selection of young players, but I’ve only scored 1,000 runs and I’ve had a couple of good seasons behind me before that.
Gay scored 261 for Northants against Middlesex in the 2024 County Championship
“I really feel like I’m at the point in my career where I’m pulling for that top three in Test cricket but for whatever reason I haven’t been picked for anything.
“It’s hard when you’re in your mid-60s, and I’d like to understand a little bit more about why certain things happened, but it’s out of my control.
“I certainly don’t want to belittle what other people have done, because there are some really talented players who have come into this baseball quickly.
My strike rate went up. I was more positive in my mindset and raised my game a little bit more. I’ve always had that appetite to score runs and hit long shots, but I found that this year when among my hundreds was fifty.
“I try to do things a little differently”
“All I can do is score runs, hundreds and go about my business.
“My goal next season is not necessarily to get 1,000 runs, but to do what people expect from Emilio Guy and I’m looking to do things a little bit differently.
“I was injured for most of the Vitality Blast last year and I think not playing a lot of T20 cricket has hurt my goals of playing Test cricket a bit, especially with the way England are playing at the minute.
“My goal was to dominate red-ball cricket, but now that I’m more established in county cricket, I want to expand my white-ball game. That’s one of the reasons I chose to play in Italy.”
Gay followed up his unbeaten 96 against Tanzania with innings of 57, 50 and 66 against Hong Kong, Uganda and Singapore respectively, opening for the former Australia star. Joe Burns.
He added: “It was a good opportunity to see it on hard wickets (in Uganda) and explore a bit, play with freedom when there wasn’t so much pressure on the result. I’m really glad I went.
“It was a great environment, a lot of fun, but it was also an opportunity to play with quality players. I learned a bit from him.
“(Kent’s) Grant Stewart and (ex-Middlesex, Hampshire and Northamptonshire) Gareth Berg were there too, so we had some really good cricketing brains.
“The boys are backing themselves to qualify for the 2026 World T20 and I think they have a really good chance. I was surprised by how much skill there was in the camp.”
“The move to Durham was the best of my career”
Gay has not ruled out playing in Italy again, but stressed that an England call-up is his ultimate goal, stating that it was the main reason he swapped Northants for Durham.
Bate, who is also looking to improve his pitching and athleticism over the winter, said: “Durham have produced a lot of England players over the years and there are players in this dressing room with recent or current international experience.
“Ben Stokes, Mark Wood, Brydon Carsey, Matthew Potts, Ollie Robinson have all been called up by England for the New Zealand series, David Bedingham for South Africa.
“There are so many players at this club that I want to be around to put myself in the best position to achieve my goals. There aren’t many countries looking beyond Durham.
Gay says Durham’s tendency to produce English players was a major factor in the move to Chester-le-Street.
“People say it was a big and difficult decision to leave Northans, and some of my family is there, and it was disappointing to leave friends and memories. But I think it’s the best thing for my career, so it happened it is easier.
“The exposure at Northampton was probably not as good as it is here in the First Division with players playing in the England system.
“I remember getting a hundred against Surrey in the first division in 2022 against a top bowling attack and maybe knocks like that are not as pronounced in some places.
