Andrew Flintoff likes Gay: Can he live up to expectations and replace Zak Crawley as opener?

New Zealand are travelling to England for three Tests in June, which means a couple of more good shows can really strengthen Gay’s case.

Emilio Gay has long been tipped to be the next batting powerhouse in England, and on the evidence of the 2026 county cricket season so far, he appears to be on the way up, especially in light of Zak Crawley’s unsatisfactory yield with the bat for so many years now.

Well, Andrew Flintoff can be fully trusted.(AP)

Earlier this week, Gay scored a fantastic second-innings 159 not out off 211 balls at No.3 against Lancashire and helped his team, Durham, come from behind and chase down 336. In the first innings, he had contributed a 41.

In the team’s season opener in the first week of this month, Gay had punished Kent bowlers for a 141-ball 128 in the first innings. You can see, not for nothing is he so highly rated. It may be noted that he is an out-and-out opener, even though currently he has been batting at No.3.

Emilio Gay playing one of his beautiful strokes. (Durham Cricket on X)

"Freddie was massive on with me on mindset. He obviously had that aura, call it arrogance or confidence, when he went out there. And he noticed that I sometimes have a bit of a strut when I walk out to bat.

“I had it against India A, and played well. And he just congratulated me on having a strut. I was like, 'Wow, like really?' He was like, 'Yeah, like, we want you to have that.' He mentioned Baz and Stokesy, and he was like, 'All of us, we want that. If there's any England team that's ever wanted confidence, it's this one.' And he said: 'When you go out to bat, don't turn that off.'” Gay told ESPNcricinfo recently.

His coach at Durham Ryan Campbell is equally mesmerised; however, at present, he doesn’t want to look too far ahead. "I know there's going to be a lot of talk about him. All we're talking about is him playing for Durham. He was disappointed with his shot in the first innings when he'd done the hard work, and he could've cashed in. This time he did," he said.

Italy, West Indies and England: Gay eligible to represent the Three

Gay, born in Bedford (England), has had an interesting journey so far. He has played three T20Is for Italy, having qualified through his Italian maternal grandfather. He can also represent the West Indies, with his paternal grandparents being Caribbean. But those are just possibilities. There is nothing like playing for England, one of the biggest teams in international cricket.

However, consistency is something Gay needs to look at. "Is he good enough? Quite possibly. Consistency is key, though. While he scored nearly 1,000 runs in Division One last season, there were also five ducks early in the year," said BBC Newcastle commentator Martin Emmerson, who has seen Gay a lot from close quarters.

New Zealand will tour England for three Tests in June, so Gay has to press his case a little more in the next few matches.