England hopeful Emilio Gay will be fit for Pakistan first Test
Emilio Gay will undergo further treatment on a shoulder injury after retiring hurt while playing for Durham in their One-Day Cup game against Middlesex on Friday, and England are hopeful he will be fit for the first Test against Pakistan that starts on 19 August. The 27-year-old made his England debut in June and played in all three Tests against New Zealand.
Gay had a scan on Saturday and will be assessed this week at Beckenham, where Pakistan play a warm-up game from Wednesday. England said he will work with medical staff while a Professional County Club Select XI provide opposition for the tourists in the four-day fixture; Gay will not take part in that match.
England’s squad has already been reshaped following the retirement of Ben Stokes and a knee injury to Jacob Bethell that rules Bethell out of the three-Test series. Jordan Cox will take Bethell’s place at number three, while Dan Lawrence is set to bat at six and bowl off-spin as England make a first attempt to balance their team without Stokes.
The selectors have not called any further batters into the squad as cover for Gay. Ollie Pope is included in the 16-strong group as a reserve batter and wicketkeeper, though he is not a specialist opener; Pope would be one available option from within the squad, while Lawrence had a failed stint as a Test opener and Cox has opened in first-class cricket.
Outside the squad, possible replacement candidates named in discussions include Surrey’s Dom Sibley and the uncapped pair Ben McKinney of Durham and Glamorgan’s Asa Tribe. Joe Root returns as full-time captain on his home ground of Headingley, while Marcus Trescothick will act as interim head coach before Stephen Fleming takes charge for the winter tour of South Africa.
Stephen Fleming, who is New Zealand-born, is scheduled to arrive in the UK in September, but there is no clarification on whether he will be in the country before the end of the Pakistan series. Gay’s assessment at Beckenham this week will determine whether he joins England’s playing XI for the first Test starting on 19 August.
