Emilio Gay

A tall, graceful top-order batter, Emilio Gay came through the ranks at Northamptonshire before moving to Durham and attracting the attention of the England selectors. He made his England Lions debut in 2025 and was again involved on that winter's trip to Australia, shadowing the Ashes touring party. A strong start to the 2026 County Championship, with two hundreds in his first three innings, increased the chatter around a Test call-up.

Gay, like Alastair Cook a former pupil at Bedford School, was awarded his first professional contract with Northants in 2019. He scored his maiden hundred opening the batting at Canterbury in 2021, adding two more in the County Championship the following season as well as a first in List A cricket, as he cemented his reputation as one of the more promising young batters on the circuit. That status was further enhanced in 2024, as he passed 1000 runs for the season, which included a maiden double-century (261 against Middlesex). Before the summer was out, Gay had agreed a three-year contract with Durham, where he amassed five hundreds - four in the Championship, one in the Metro Bank Cup - in his first full season.

Eligible to play for England, West Indies (his father's family came to the UK from Grenada) and Italy (via his maternal grandfather), Gay initially opted to represent the Azzurri in 2024, making four appearances in the Cricket World Cup Challenge League. He subsequently made his T20 international debut at the ICC T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier, helping Italy to reach their first World Cup - although he was subsequently unable to feature in the tournament (where Italy played both England and West Indies) due to injury.
ESPNcricinfo staff