David Gower has hailed a long overdue return to picking successful county players as Emilio Gay prepares to make his England debut at Lord’s. The in-form Durham batter has replaced Zak Crawley in the squad to face New Zealand.
Gower's Praise for Gay
Speaking at the National Table Cricket Finals Day in his role as Lord's Taverners president, Gower said: “I think he has earned it. He’s not just a flash in the pan; he’s been coming up for two to three years now. He’s been around long enough to know his own game. The good news is that the penny has dropped [for England’s management], and they had no option.”
Gower added: “The penny has dropped that county cricket is still relevant and that people shouldn’t be excluded from the England team for the wrong reasons. [Gay] has done everything right by scoring hundreds for Durham and that should be all you can do. That should be rewarded and taken notice of, and it has.”
Gay enjoyed a scintillating start to the summer with three hundreds from his first five County Championship matches, including one at Lord’s against Middlesex at the start of May.
Crawley's Axing
Meanwhile, Zak Crawley, who averages just 31 with the bat for England after 64 Test matches, failed to pass 50 during his opening 12 innings for Kent this term. Gower said the decision to drop him was the right one.
“I have a certain sympathy for Zak, but it's limited,” Gower said. “At his best, he did some awesome things against the best in the world. But he should have learnt more about the game during his four years. He should have developed an instinct, which allowed him to do all the special things he can do, but to make them last longer, and to be more productive more often. [Players need to] realise what they can and can’t do. [Crawley] didn’t learn to do this and when you average 31 after 64 Test matches, you’ve let yourself down. There was only going to be one solution at the end of it.”
Challenge Against New Zealand
Brendon McCullum has so far been unable to win any of the four five-match series against either Australia or India he’s been involved in. Gower added that getting back to winning ways against New Zealand will be no walk in the park.
“My view is that if New Zealand had played Australia in Australia this winter, New Zealand could easily have won,” he said. “England will expect to beat New Zealand but take them lightly at your absolute peril. They won’t roll over.”
Lord's Taverners Event
Gower was speaking during the Lord’s Taverners National Table Cricket Finals, which were hosted at the Home of Cricket’s Nursery Pavilion. Table cricket is a fully inclusive and adapted version of the game aimed at young people living with a wide range of learning and physical disabilities. Teams of six compete to avoid fielders and hit specific scoring zones while the ball is bowled using a ramp and played on a table tennis table.
On the inclusive cricketing showpiece for schools, Gower, who is Lord’s Taverners president, said: “The opportunity the students get to play a version of the game here at Lord’s is fantastic. It’s brilliant to see the spirit in which the games have been played. The Lord’s Taverners do such great work and I’m proud to be able to be a part of it.”
Lord’s Taverners provides free, inclusive, and impactful cricket programmes across the UK empowering young people living with a disability or facing socio-economic disadvantage, to overcome the challenges of inequality and unlock their potential.
