Northants opener Gay delighted to make his mark with match-winning innings

In his sixth innings for the County, the 20-year-old showed plenty of maturity as he scored a measured 77 not out to see his side to a deserved six-wicket win at the County Ground.

It was a big relief for the Bedford-born youngster, who had made a habit of getting a bit of a start in his previous innings at the top of the order this season, three times reaching double figures, but then not capitalising.

It happened again in the first innings against Glamorgan when the tall left-hander was dismissed for 15 in the 10th over, but he finally got going properly in the second innings as he and Charlie Thurston (64) combined to guide Northants to their 189 target to win it.

“It is great to be honest, because in the first innings I felt like I threw it away a little bit.” said Gay when asked how it felt to score that first 50 for the club.

“I think the most satisfying thing about the win is that everybody chipped in in some way.

“It is good to get off the mark with my own career, but to get our first win of the season as well makes it that bit more special.

“I am really proud of the lads, and the result has been coming, we just needed to be patient and our bowling and batting would fall into place, which it did.”

And he added: “I have felt in good form in the past couple of innings, so it has been a bit frustrating because I feel I have got out to a couple of soft dismissals.

“But it is just about being patient and trusting the process, not going away from that.

“I have been doing a lot of work with Sadds (batting coach John Sadler) and a few other people, and it is just about being patient.

“But the best thing is we have got that win, and we can look over the past four days and be proud of what we have done.”

It was definitely a deserved win for the County, but they were made to sweat for their first victory of the campaign, mainly thanks to a remarkable 168-run ninth-wicket partnership in Glamorgan’s second innings between Marchant de Lange and Dan Douthwaite.

The pair launched a brutal counter-attack on Monday afternoon, leaving the County with that testing target, having at one point, with the Welshmen 60 for eight, been heading for an innings victory.

But that just gave Gay another chance show what he can do, and he took it in some style - once Tuesday morning’s heavy rain courtesy of Storm Francis had cleared away.

“Fair play to Glamorgan they batted well,” said Gay. “We stuck to our plans, but they batted smart and took some risks, and then with the weather forecast on Tuesday it was a bit touch and go.

“But we then batted aggressively when we needed to, with controlled aggression, and then when we needed to dig in we did that, because they bowled well, especially up front, and we cashed in later.

“It was enjoyable.”

So, with that first half-century under his belt, the next target for Gay is to hit three figures, and he is hopeful he will be able to do that in the County’s final Bob Willis Trophy clash against Gloucestershire in Bristol next month.

“I felt really good in the first innings, and then in the second innings we didn’t have enough runs to play with, but it will come,” said Gay, who has made several second team tons for the County.

“Hopefully at Gloucester in the last game we can get a few lads to that figure.

“Charlie (Thurston) hit a brilliant hundred in the first innings against Glamorgan, and I am chuffed for him, and I know him quite well because I went to school with him.

“But it is good at the moment, everybody is chipping in and it is brilliant to see.”