Gay should open for England in South Africa - Cook

ByTimothy Abraham

BBC Sport writer astatine Edgbaston

England opener Emilio Gay should clasp his spot for their wintertime circuit of South Africa, according to erstwhile skipper Sir Alastair Cook.

Gay made a Test-best 60 from 114 balls to blunt Pakistan's onslaught which helped England prehend power connected time one astatine Edgbaston.

The 26-year-old left-hander's tally of 261 runs, astatine an mean of 26.1, mightiness not look peculiarly eye-catching.

But successful an English summertime wherever shot has dominated bat - Ben Duckett is England's lone centurion successful six location Tests truthful acold - the Durham left-hander has shown a willingness to grind it out.

Cook, who made astir 12,000 runs arsenic an opener for England, has been impressed with the quality the Durham left-hander has shown to marque pugnacious runs astatine the apical of the order.

"I deliberation Emilio Gay's played truly nicely. I would accidental he's assured and intense," Cook told Test Match Special.

"He is decidedly a run-getter erstwhile helium gets in. He seems to person that existent stubborn and beardown volition to marque it number if helium can.

"He has done capable for maine to instrumentality him to South Africa to proceed the advancement of a subordinate wherever the pitches volition beryllium somewhat easier to bat connected and helium should unfastened the batting."

According to CricViz, Gay has near oregon defended 61% of the gait deliveries he's faced since his debut against New Zealand successful June.

Dom Sibley successful 2020 (68% near oregon defended) was the past English opener to registry a higher percent successful a location summer.

During his innings connected Wednesday, Gay near oregon defended 65 deliveries and Cook "likes however precocious helium defends the ball" with a diligent attack to much attacking strokeplay.

Gay scored the archetypal 12 runs of his half-century disconnected 43 balls earlier his adjacent 38 came disconnected 52 balls.

He deed 9 fours and has scored 68% of his Test runs successful boundaries - the joint-highest of immoderate England batter with astatine slightest 250 runs successful the red-ball format.

"If you instrumentality Gay's innings, and what I've seen of him, he's not hunting that thrust excessively often. He waits for it to travel into there," added Cook.

"He scores disconnected the backmost ft done the disconnected broadside arsenic well. He scored done the limb broadside and timed them done mid-wicket truthful helium does person an all-round game. He's not constricted to the disconnected side."

Given Pakistan's flimsy batting - bowled retired for 133 successful their archetypal innings present - it could extremity up being Gay's last Test innings of the summer.

With Jacob Bethell acceptable to instrumentality for the circuit of South Africa pursuing injury, the enactment of a top-order batter for the wintertime is apt to beryllium a scrap betwixt Jordan Cox, Dan Lawrence and Gay for 2 places.

Only Harry Brook (six occasions) has passed 30 much times than Gay (five) during a challenging summertime for batters.

Although Gay has struggled to play backmost of a magnitude bowling with 7 dismissals successful the 7-9 metre magnitude scope which has highlighted a imaginable weakness.

Former England skipper Michael Vaughan said Gay "played nicely" but mightiness bespeak connected an missed accidental to scope 3 figures for the archetypal clip aft helium dragged connected a transportation from Razaullah Khan.

"Emilio Gay recovered his equilibrium early. He had it hard astatine the commencement and past helium recovered his flow," Vaughan said.

"He'll beryllium truly disappointed to get retired for 60. He'll beryllium hopeless to get his archetypal Test lucifer period and I thought it was connected today.

"That other small spot of gait from Razaullah and a small deficiency of attraction astatine the extremity of the time has outgo him."

England seamer Josh Tongue said Gay's rigorous mentation has helped him make the indispensable powers of attraction for Test cricket.

"The 1 happening I've seen successful Emilio is helium trains truly hard successful the nets. He'll bat for ages, putting a batch of hard enactment in, and it's shown connected the pitch," added Tongue.

"Even past week astatine Lord's, helium had 2 rather horrible dismissals, but I felt contiguous helium batted unbelievable connected a tricky pitch.

"He was evidently truly disappointed with however helium got out. It's not a bully feeling, chopping on, but he's enactment the squad successful a truly bully presumption for tomorrow."