England’s preparations for the Test series against Pakistan have been hit by uncertainty after opener Emilio Gay suffered a right shoulder injury while playing for Durham in the One-Day Cup clash against Middlesex. His injury has now left the national selectors facing a possible search for backup at the top of the order.
The youngster was forced to leave the field after aggravating the injury while batting. The southpaw initially experienced discomfort in the sixth over before the problem worsened when he played a straight drive against Toby Roland-Jones in the following over.
A Durham medical staff member attended Gay before he walked off the field after scoring nine runs from 17 deliveries. As per a report in Cricinfo, a scan scheduled for the weekend will determine the seriousness of the injury. However, Durham confirmed that the batter will not return for the remainder of the match.
Meanwhile, the setback comes shortly after England announced their squad for the Pakistan series, slated to begin at Headingley on August 19. He was first selected for the three-match series against New Zealand and after scoring two half-centuries, the 26-year-old sealed his spot.ย
Major concerns for England in top order
England’s selection plans have already been affected by other absences. Jacob Bethell has been ruled out of the series because of a right knee injury, while Ben Stokes has retired from international cricket. As a result, Jordan Cox and Dan Lawrence were selected to fill batting positions at No. 3 and No. 6 respectively.
If Gay’s injury rules him out, England may need to identify an additional opening option to partner Ben Duckett. The current squad has limited cover, with Ollie Pope the only reserve batter available. Lawrence has previously opened for England, but his three-Test spell at the top of the order against Sri Lanka in 2024 produced only 20 runs per innings across six innings before he was dropped.
New Test head coach Stephen Fleming, captain Joe Root, men’s selector Marcus North and managing director Rob Key were involved in the selection process and could be required to assess alternatives if Gay is unavailable.
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