Emilio Gay injury puts England's Test opener spot in doubt ahead of Pakistan Test

Just a day after announcing their squad for the first two Tests against Pakistan, England may already have a headache to deal with after Emilio Gay retired hurt with a right shoulder injury while playing for Durham.

Gay made his debut in England's XI this summer, taking Zak Crawley's spot as opener for the New Zealand series. However, Gay was injured and had to withdraw from a One-Day Cup match against Middlesex at Chester-le-Street. The left-hander initially felt discomfort in his right shoulder in the sixth over before hurting it further at the start of the seventh when striking a crisp straight drive off Toby Roland-Jones. A member of Durham's medical team immediately came out to check on Gay before escorting him off the field on 9 from 17 balls.

Gay registered two half-centuries in the 2-1 defeat to New Zealand, and was part of a new-look 16-man squad to face Pakistan, starting at Headingley on August 19. With Jacob Bethell rule out of the series with a right knee injury, and Ben Stokes' international retirement, Jordan Cox and Dan Lawrence were picked to bat at Nos. 3 and 6 respectively.

Now, England could be on the hunt for opening cover if Gay's injury is found to be serious. New Test head coach Stephen Fleming, though only taking full charge of the side at the end of the summer, was involved in the selection process, along with returning captain Joe Root. The pair, along with men's selector Marcus North and managing director Rob Key, may be forced to reconnect to identify further candidates.

Ben Duckett's absence from the current team leaves no clear alternatives. The team only has one spare batter, Ollie Pope, and Lawrence's previous stint in 2024 ended with three Test matches as the opener against Sri Lanka when Crawley was out with a broken finger. The Surrey allrounder averaged just 20 from his six innings before he was axed altogether prior to this week's recall.

Possible options include Gay's Durham team-mate Ben McKinney and Glamorgan's Asa Tribe, both of whom were vying with Gay for the opening spot at the start of the season.

Somerset's James Rew made his debut in the second Test against New Zealand but has opened just once in his career, earlier this summer. Crawley, a mainstay during the previous era under Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum, has stepped away from first-class cricket after torrid start to the County Championship, with 226 runs across 12 innings for Kent in Division Two, averaging 20.54.