Emilio Gay looks like another England opener broken by brutality of Test cricket

The swish of the bat betrayed Emilio Gay's despair. Not for the first time this summer, Gay reacted to a dismissal by thrashing his bat at thin air.

The opener's fear will be that his response to being given out lbw to Mohammad Abbas during England's third-Test victory over Pakistan could be his last moments on a Test pitch. Ending an international summer with a duck is regrettable for any batsman, but particularly perilous for a man whose England future is in jeopardy.

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Gay was so convinced that he was out lbw to Abbas that he had to be talked into using one of England's reviews. One glance at a replay confirmed that Chris Gaffaney's decision was correct. Even before the third umpire's verdict, Gay began his forlorn walk off the field at Edgbaston.

England only scored a solitary century all Test summer, a measure of how onerous batting has been. The overall average per wicket in Test cricket this summer, 25.7, is the lowest in any English season since 2000, thanks to a lethal cocktail of the wobble seam, green-tinged pitches and metronomic pace bowlers.

Joe Root has repeatedly praised Gay's contributions, stressing how these have been more valuable than the raw numbers alone would suggest. In often treacherous batting conditions, Gay has shown tenacity and a solid defence.

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Test opening in England in 2026 has been extremely hard. All Test openers have averaged a combined 25.9 this summer. Ben Duckett, who is 49 Tests into his career, only averaged 27.6, and 8.8 against Pakistan. Gay's average of 24.6 must be understood in this context.

Low scores and ducks are an inevitable hazard of top-order batting; even Don Bradman was out for nought once in every 11 Test innings. And so, more than his duck here and against New Zealand at Trent Bridge, Gay will lament failing to capitalise on his starts. He reached 50 three times this summer, but never advanced past 60: his score on the opening day when he inside-edged Razaullah on to his stumps.

While Abbas ended Gay's series with the delivery that has defined the 2026 summer – wobble seam, delivered a notch below 80mph – England might also reflect on a very different dismissal. At Trent Bridge in June, New Zealand's Will O'Rourke harassed Gay with a series of bouncers into his ribs. From his fifth ball, so cramped up that one hand slipped off his bat, Gay gloved a short delivery down the leg side into the hands of Tom Blundell.

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Gay has not faced a spell like this since, nor has he been dismissed by another bouncer. And yet this wicket is the sort that opponents remember. South Africa, on the bouncy pitches that await England in December, and Australia both have an array of menacing quick bowlers. Should they encounter Gay, Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins will all resolve to test his robustness against bouncers.

Prowess against the short ball is one of the qualities that have long most excited England about Jacob Bethell. With Bethell certain to slot back into the side, and Dan Lawrence offering all-round worth at No 6, Gay is effectively in competition with Jordan Cox for the final batting spot. But Cox's assurance after walking in second ball of the innings, with England nought for one, confirmed the fine impression that he has made this summer.

Cox's technique, range of shots and breezy demeanour all look ideally suited to the strains of Test cricket. Indeed, in three substantive partnerships with Root this series, Cox looked at least the England captain's equal every time. His average of 50.5 against Pakistan was the second best on either side, below only Harry Brook.

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While these runs came at No 3, Cox has two seasons of experience opening in the County Championship, so could easily slot up to open, with Bethell returning at first drop. If England preferred to retain Cox at three, then Bethell could also move up to open: the same position that he favoured in underage cricket in Barbados, and which he now occupies in the 50-over side too.

Gay is a cricketer of intense passion and dedication. "I've never ever seen anyone work as hard as my brother," his sibling, Simeon, told Telegraph Sport at Edgbaston. "He is obsessed with cricket and his work rate is ridiculous."

Yet such commitment can come at a cost, preventing players from having an escape from the glare of the Test game. Since Andrew Strauss retired, in 2012, England have an ignominious history of cycling through openers, then discarding them when they seem broken by the sheer brutality of Test cricket. Batsmen as contrasting as Adam Lyth, Alex Hales, Mark Stoneman and Dominic Sibley were all dropped after playing at least seven Tests, discarded in such a way that made it hard to conceive of them playing the five-day game ever again.

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Dropping Gay now could yet be different. Leaving him out of the first-choice XI, or even the squad altogether, for the series in South Africa would be a recognition that England have better options for the year ahead. And yet, aged 26, Gay has shown hints that he could yet return to Test cricket anew as a more complete player.

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