Emilio Gay has made three centuries for Durham this season. On the day he learned he would be England's new opener, Emilio Gay drove from Durham to Bedford to tell his parents about his first international call-up. The 26-year-old Durham batter received a phone call at 08:00 BST from his county director of cricket and new England national selector Marcus North, telling the left-hander he is in the squad to play New Zealand at Lord's on 4 June.

"He actually kind of woke me up," Gay told BBC Radio 5 Live. Instead of then calling his parents to relay the news, Gay decided to jump in the car as part of his journey to the County Championship game against Kent at Beckenham on Friday. "I didn't really want to ring them, because we've been through so much," said Gay. "I thought I've got to be there to tell them. I drove back to Bedford.

"My brother videoed it and it was a moment I'll never forget. It was a really good day." Gay's mother is Italian, which is how he qualified to play three T20 internationals for Italy last year. His father's family hail from Grenada, and it was a trip to the Caribbean in 2007, around the time West Indies hosted the World Cup, that sparked Gay's love of cricket. He even got a signed shirt from former Windies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo.

"I fell in love with the game through my dad's family roots in the Caribbean," said Gay. "That's how I really got into it properly at seven years old, and from there it built and built. One day I dreamed of getting called up to play for England and that day came today." 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 James Rew from Somerset, 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. Robinson one of best bowlers in the world - Key. 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.

Gay arrives at the highest level with 13 hundreds in 72 first-class matches, with an average above 40. He was part of the England Lions team that played against India A last summer, and again on tour in Australia over the winter. When he lines up against New Zealand, Gay will become the 720th man to play Test cricket for England and the first man to open on debut in a home Test since Jason Roy against Ireland in 2019.

"In three weeks' time, if I play and walk out to bat against New Zealand, I'm going to be nervous," he said. "Getting as much practice around nerves is probably the best thing. A few years ago I had a slightly worse relationship with nerves, trying to shut those nerves out for games. Now, I understand they're never going to go away, regardless of how good I am. They will never go away.

"A few weeks ago I played against Lancashire and Jimmy Anderson. I was nervous before that, but those nerves are what I need to be at my absolute best. Everyone has been there before. Whatever I feel on that day, some of the best players to ever play the game have been there and felt those same things. However I feel, I'm human at the end of the day, so I'll try to embrace it and do it with a smile on my face." Get cricket news sent straight to your phone.