Emilio Gay: England hopeful opener will be fit for Pakistan series

Opener Emilio Gay will have further treatment on a shoulder injury this week and England are hopeful he will be fit for the first Test against Pakistan that starts on 19 August.

The 27-year-old retired hurt with a shoulder problem while playing for Durham in their One-Day Cup game against Middlesex on Friday.

The left-hander had a scan on Saturday and will now be assessed at Beckenham, where Pakistan play a warm-up game from Wednesday.

Gay will work with medical staff as a Professional County Club Select XI provide opposition for the tourists in a four-day game. He will not take part in the fixture.

England have already been forced into a reshuffle following the retirement of former captain Ben Stokes and a knee injury to Jacob Bethell that means the batter will miss the three-Test series.

Jordan Cox will take Bethell’s place at number three, while Dan Lawrence will bat at six and bowl off-spin as England make a first attempt to balance their team without Stokes.

England have not called any further batters into their squad as cover for Gay.

Ollie Pope is already in the 16-strong group as a reserve batter and wicketkeeper, although the Surrey man is not a specialist opener.

Pope would be one option to replace Gay from within the squad, while Lawrence had a failed stint as a Test opener and Cox has opened in first-class cricket.

Replacement options from outside the squad could include a recall for Surrey’s Dom Sibley, or uncapped pair Ben McKinney of Durham and Glamorgan’s Asa Tribe.

Joe Root returns as full-time captain on his home ground of Headingley, while Marcus Trescothick will act as interim head coach before Stephen Fleming takes charge for the winter tour of South Africa.

New Zealander Fleming is scheduled to arrive in the UK in September, but there is no clarification on whether he will be in the country before the end of the Pakistan series.