When Gay walks down the steps of the famous Lord’s pavilion on the opening day of the first Test on Thursday, he will finally fulfil his boyhood ambition to pull on an England shirt.
“I’ve wanted to play for England since I was six or seven years old,” Gay told the TalkSport podcast ’Following on’.
Gay has taken a circuitous journey to the pinnacle of his career.
The 26-year-old’s initial taste of the international stage came with Italy – the country of his maternal grandmother – as he helped the emerging cricket nation qualify for this year’s T20 World Cup in India.
His Italy debut against Tanzania at Uganda’s Entebbe Oval was a far cry from the unique experience that awaits him when he plays his first Test on the hallowed turf at Lord’s.
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It was only when Gay was told that representing Italy, who do not play Test cricket, was no barrier to England selection that he accepted a chance to turn out for the associate country.
“I am so grateful for the opportunities Italy have given me,” Gay told the Daily Telegraph before adding: “The priority has always been England. There has never been any confusion there.”
That burning desire to play for England was why Gay turned down the chance to represent the West Indies.
He qualified for the West Indies through his father’s family originating from the Caribbean island of Grenada, but snubbed their advances, even though an England call-up was by no means guaranteed at that stage.
Gay also moved from Northamptonshire to Durham – then a First Division county – in a permanent deal last year in the hope of furthering his England chances.
Sharing the Durham dressing room with England captain Ben Stokes cannot have harmed Gay’s bid to break into the Test squad.
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But while many England selections during Stokes’ time at the helm alongside coach Brendon McCullum have been educated hunches, Gay has forced this way in primarily through sheer weight of runs at county level.
England finally lost patience with opener Zak Crawley following a poor return during their 4-1 Ashes series loss in Australia, leaving a void that Gay has been given the chance to fill.
Gay has scored over 500 runs for Durham in six games in the Second Division of the County Championship this season, including three hundreds, at an average of nearly 79.
Stokes has been as impressed with Gay’s drive to reach the top as his prolific run-scoring.
“Emilio has been very vocal about every decision he’s made in his career so far has been to give himself the best chance of playing for England, and now he’s here,” Stokes told reporters on Wednesday.
Gay, while capable of playing attacking shots, also has a well-organised defence and, with England looking to refine their aggressive approach, Stokes has urged him to keep faith with his usual batting style.
“One thing I said to him yesterday (Tuesday), in front of everyone, was just don’t change because you’ve got here,” said Stokes.
“You’ve got runs this summer doing what Emilio Gay does. What you’ve been doing has been good enough to get you here.
“Go out there and be Emilio Gay which has earned you the right to be here playing for England.”
–AFP
Photo: Alex Davidson/Getty Images
