Durham to Bedford - Gay's 200-mile drive to tell parents of England call-up
Just like Sir Alastair Cook, the most successful opener ever to play for England, Gay is a former pupil of Bedford School. He began his professional career at Northamptonshire and moved to Durham last season. A specialist opener by trade, he usually bats at three for the north-east county.
Though Gay is one of two uncapped batters in the England squad for the first Test against New Zealand, alongside Somerset's James Rew, director of cricket Rob Key has confirmed it will be Gay opening at Lord's against the Black Caps. He will take the place of Zak Crawley, who has been dropped following the 4-1 Ashes defeat in Australia. Crawley's omission has been expected for some time, with Gay's three centuries at the beginning of the new County Championship season putting him in the spotlight.
Listen to England squad reaction on the TMS podcast Taylor named England fielding coach in landmark move On the subject of being an England prospect bringing extra pressure, Gay said: "I've really enjoyed it. I just see it as such a positive thing. "People are talking about you in a positive way of potentially playing for England - I don't really see that as negative.
People would maybe try to shut it out, but I don't actively look for it. "I try to really embrace it and think what an opportunity I've got to put my name forward. I know if I play for England I'm going to get pressure and nerves, and all of that.
It's just about how you deal with it. " Recently, England have occasionally favoured hunch selections, with some players thrust into Test cricket without a great deal of first-class experience. Spinners Rehan Ahmed and Shoaib Bashir, batter Jacob Bethell and pace bowler Josh Hull have all been given Test debuts at early stages of their careers, with varying degrees of success.