India, April 30 -- 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.

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...