Could England's next Test match be the current Italy international?
Durham's Emilio Gay certainly hopes so, as the left-hander looks to force his way into Ben Stokes' red-ball side in 2025 and focus on improving his white-ball game in order to do so.
Bedford-born Guy qualified for Italy through his mother and played in four 50-over matches for the Azzurri in November, scoring half-centuries in each with a best of 96 against Tanzania.
Guy moved to Durham on loan in 2024 before making a permanent move over the winter
Since Italy is not a full ICC member state, these appearances will not stand in the way of representing his native England – and the standout player is frustrated that he has not already done so.
Guy made 1019 County Championships in 2024, scoring 919 in 10 matches for Northamptonshire in Division Two and then another 100 in two Division One matches for Durham, a team he initially joined on loan before making the permanent switch over the winter.
The highlight was Northants' innings of 261 against Middlesex.
However, when England needed an extra bat in New Zealand due to Jimmy Smith's paternity leave, Guy was overlooked in favor of Jacob Bethell, a player who did not get any red-ball hundreds compared to Guy's six and who scored just 466 first-class runs this season. summer. .
Guy is disappointed not to feature for England
Bethel, of course He showed the superior talent he possesses against the Black Capswhere he has scored three half-centuries from number three and looks every inch the Test player, but Zak Crawley's lack of form at the top of the order may have given Gay a sniff of a call-up.
So where does he think he stands in the hierarchy?
Jay (24 years old) said. Sky Sports: “(England men’s national team) Luke Wright contacted me in August about the Lions – I think I had just missed the red-ball game against Sri Lanka.
“I'm an honest person and I'm naturally disappointed not to be involved with England this winter on some sort of squad or Lions tour.
“I realize they took a bit of a different route in terms of picking younger players, but I just got 1,000 points and had a couple of good seasons before that.
Guy scored 261 for Northants against Middlesex in the 2024 County Championship
“I really feel as though I'm at that point in my career where I'm pushing for a third-place finish in Test cricket but for whatever reason, I'm not getting picked for anything.
“It's hard sometimes when your average age is 60 and I would like to understand a bit more why certain things happen but that's beyond my control.
“I definitely don't want to take away from what other people have done because there are some really talented players who have jumped into this baseball way.
My strike rate was high. I was more positive in my mentality and got into the game a little bit more. I've always had that desire to score runs and bat long distances, all I've been lacking is more consistency but I've found that this year with 50s among the hundreds.
“I'm looking forward to doing things a little differently.”
“All I can do is score goals, get hundreds and do my job.
“Next season, my goal is not necessarily to exceed 1,000 points, but to exceed what people expect from Emilio Gay, and I am looking forward to doing things a little differently.
“Last year I was injured in most of the Vitality Blast matches and I think not playing a lot of T20 cricket has slightly hurt my goals of playing Test cricket, especially with the way England are playing at the moment.
“My goal was to dominate red-ball cricket but now that I am more established in county level cricket, I want to expand into white-ball play. This was one of the reasons I chose to play for Italy.”
Gay followed up his unbeaten run of 96 against Tanzania with 57, 50 and 66 not out runs against Hong Kong, Uganda and Singapore respectively, opening with the former Australian star. Joe Burns.
“I saw it as a good opportunity to get strong points (in Uganda) and explore a little bit and play freely when there wasn't much pressure on the result. I'm really glad I went,” he added.
“It was a great environment, a lot of fun, but it was an opportunity to play with good players as well. I learned a little bit from him.
“(Kent) Grant Stewart and (former Middlesex, Hampshire and Northamptonshire player) Gareth Berge were also there, so we had some really good cricketing minds.
“The guys are coming back into their own to qualify for the 2026 T20 World Cup and I think they have a really good chance. I was surprised at how much skill there was in the camp.”
“Moving to Durham was the best thing in my career.”
Guy did not rule out playing for Italy again, but stressed that securing a call-up to the England national team was his ultimate goal, indicating that this was the main reason behind Northants replacing Durham.
The player, who is also looking to improve his playing style and athleticism over the winter, said: “Durham have produced a lot of England players over the years and there are players in the dressing room with recent or current international experience.
“Ben Stokes, Mark Wood, Brydon Carse, Matthew Potts and Ollie Robinson have been called up by England for the New Zealand series, and David Bedingham from South Africa.
“There are a lot of players at this club and I want to be around so I can put myself in the best position to achieve my goals. There weren't a lot of counties to look up to outside of Durham.
Guy says Durham's tendency to produce England players was a major factor in his switch to Chester-le-Street
“People say it was a big, tough decision to leave Northants, and some parts of it were – my family is there and it was disappointing to leave friends and memories behind. But I think this is the best thing about my career, so it made the decision easier.
“The exposure at Northampton probably wasn't as great as it is here in Division One with players all over the England system.
“I remember I got a hundred against Surrey in Division One in 2022 against a top bowling attack and perhaps batting like that doesn't get highlighted in certain places.”
