Northants opener Emilio continues his Canterbury love affair

It seems there is something about Canterbury that Northants batsman Emilio Gay likes.
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The elegant left-hander scored the second first-class century of his career against Kent in the famous cathedral city on Monday - a little more than 12 months after scoring his first at the same Spitfire Ground venue!

Gay's superb 112 was the backbone of the County's first innings total of 303 all out, with support coming from Ryan Rickelton, who made 55 on his 26th birthday - the pair steadying the ship after skipper Ricardo Vasconcelos had been dismissed off the first ball of the match.

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The home side will have been pleased with that total, with Northants at one stage looking well set for a huge score at 205 for two in baking temperatures in the south east.

Emilio Gay scored the second first-class century of his career against Kent at Canterbury on MondayEmilio Gay scored the second first-class century of his career against Kent at Canterbury on Monday
Emilio Gay scored the second first-class century of his career against Kent at Canterbury on Monday

But Gay's dismissal in the 63rd over sparked something a collapse, with only Luke Procter and Jimmy Neesham - on his first-class debut for the club - offering any resistance as they both made 33.

So Northants didn't quite set the total they wanted to, but it was still a milestone day for Gay, who also believes there is enough in the wicket to ensure a first innings total of 303 could well be competitive.

“Winning the toss and batting with the sun out on a very good wicket was definitely something we were very happy with," said the Bedford-born opener.

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"Losing that first wicket was obviously a shock to the system, but fair play to them for putting the ball in the right area first ball and being right on from ball one.

"It was important that Ryan came in, soaked up some pressure and we built that partnership brilliantly. That kind of set the tone and helped us maintain that momentum.

“I think fair play to the bowlers, they bowled well.

"We got them into their third or fourth spells, but they kept putting the ball in the right areas."I do think there were some soft dismissals there which let them back into the game, but I think moving forward there’s definitely enough in the wicket.

"The ball was swinging throughout the day so I think there’s plenty of positives to take for us, with the bowlers we’ve got."

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And on compiling the second century of his career, and a personal best one at that, Gay said: “It was very nice.

"I felt like I’ve got a bit of a monkey off my back this year, having got three other fifties where I couldn’t kick on to get that hundred, it was very satisfying.

"Now hopefully it’s just a case of having got one I can get a couple more because I’ve got big ambitions with where I want to go with my game.

"I want to get into that England side in the future and play Test cricket, so for me it’s about staying in the now and staying in the moment, but having big goals.

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"I set myself high standards so I really want to kick on and carry on this form.”

Play resumes at Canterbury at 11am on Tuesday, and Kent, who include England men Zak Crawley and Sam Billings in their line-up, as well as former Test batter Joe Denly and the in-form Ben Compton, will be aiming to put themselves in the box seat.