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Making a Test debut at Lord’s as an England opening batsman is like ‘playing in the middle of a big party’, with ‘goosebump moments’ following that unique walk through the cheering members in the Long Room, those that know the feeling tell Daily Mail Sport.
Eight players have experienced that high-stakes situation in the past 50 years. And Durham’s Emilio Gay will be able to tell his own story as the ninth against New Zealand this week. But in nine of the previous innings by those opening up in their opening Test, they scored 12 or fewer. So what makes a Test debut at the home of cricket different?
Sam Robson, a newbie a dozen years ago when Sri Lanka were the opposition, tells Daily Mail Sport: ‘I told friends and family afterwards that it felt like playing cricket out in the middle of a big party. Lord’s has that buzz, that murmur that everyone talks about and it’s such a famous Test match the world over, that it’s a big event not only for you individually when debuting, but within the cricketing calendar.
‘As a Middlesex player, you walk down the steps and through the Long Room and there’s a few members sort of wishing you well. But during that Test match, it was absolutely rammed and there was a man-made guard of honour from the dressing rooms right down on to the pitch.
‘I must admit, on the first morning, batting first, there were goosebumps walking out. Obviously, then part of the challenge, particularly as an opening batter in Test cricket, is calming down and playing the ball on its merit.
‘The main difference is that as a county player, you get a few thousand people for a first-class game at Lord’s, so doing it in front of 25,000 can be the biggest shock to the system.’
Durham’s Emilio Gay will become the ninth England opener to make his Test debut Lord’s in the last 50 years when he walks out to bat against New Zealand on Thursday
Sam Robson is bowled for 19 on debut at Lord’s back in 2014 and says: ‘I didn’t have the most successful game, but I wouldn’t swap a Test debut at Lord’s for anything’
Yorkshire’s Adam Lyth, who made his bow alongside Mark Wood in victory over Brendon McCullum’s Black Caps in 2015, adds: ‘There’s no better place to make your debut. It’s a very special place. There will be some nerves, like there were for myself, but, they will slip away quite quickly once Emilio’s in the heat of the battle.
‘He’s deserved his call-up, and I wish him all the success in the world. It won’t be easy against a good attack, but if he trusts his instincts and plays like he’s done for Durham and Northamptonshire over the last three seasons, he’ll be absolutely fine.’
One advantage that the 26-year-old Gay holds over one of his predecessors, Steve James, is having a fortnight’s lead-in to the big day. In 1998, James was summoned less than 24 hours before play began against South Africa after Mark Butcher fractured his thumb.
‘I was actually playing a game against Leicestershire in Cardiff,’ says former Glamorgan player James. ‘It was a delayed start because of rain, and I got a call at lunchtime saying that Butch was struggling and I needed to get to Lord’s. So, I rushed up there, got to the Marriott hotel and saw David “Bumble” Lloyd in the lift. He asked: “Are you playing?” And he was head coach!
‘Some people say it’s better to be called up last minute, so you don’t have time to worry, but the way I liked to prepare, it would have been better if I’d been picked and netted that week. In those days, we arrived in our own cars and I remember driving past the ground really early and seeing the queue. It’s a bit of a cliche, but I just thought, “Bloody hell. This is not Sophia Gardens on a wet Wednesday”.’
James, who made 10 and a duck on debut, has been impressed by the left-hander Gay’s temperament, adding: ‘The good thing about him is that there was a lot of chat about whether he might play and he didn’t lose form after that. He had a good patch at the right time, and seems quite mentally strong.’
Indeed, one of his three County Championship centuries this season came at the home of cricket against Middlesex.
‘It can be tricky, because if you have a trigger movement like me, it can take you across the stumps,’ Lyth, who made seven and 12, remembers. ‘My first few balls, I went a little bit too far when facing at the Media Centre End, but that’s just the adrenaline when your beans are going a little bit. But as Gay doesn’t really have too much of a trigger, I’m sure he’ll be fine.’
Adam Lyth watches as New Zealand’s Tim Southee takes the catch to dismiss him on debut at Lord’s in 2015. ‘There’s no better place to make your debut, it’s very special,’ Lyth says
Gay hit a ton at Lord’s for Durham against Middlesex this season, which should stand him in good stead
South African great Allan Donald celebrates the wicket of England debutant James in 1998. ‘People talk about that jump up from first-class to Test cricket and it was there for me to see straight away,’ James says
Robson, who scored one and 19 in his debut, adds: ‘Being a Middlesex player was definitely an advantage because the quirks of Lord’s, and batting on the slope, was really neither here nor there to me because I’d played there many times. It can also make it tricky for the bowlers if they’re not used to it, so it works both ways and in Gay’s case, he got a hundred against us at Lord’s a month ago. That will hold him in good stead.’
Players from all over the world have acknowledged that the splendour of Lord’s helps them to find an extra few per cent and James felt the brunt of this when faced with a new-ball attack of South African greats Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock.
‘Donald was someone I’d faced a lot in county cricket,’ James says. ‘We had about 15 overs to bat at the end of the second day, and he bowled so much quicker at me than he’d ever done before.
‘When people talk about that jump up from first-class to Test cricket, it was there for me to see straight away. Speed guns had just started around then and they used to flash up on the perimeter fence. It kept flashing above 90mph and I was like, “Yeah, I know”.’
New Zealand’s Will O’Rourke and Matt Henry are not quite of that ilk but certainly have the hostility and skill to add another name to the list of Lord’s flunks – Lyth, Robson and James among them. But as Robson concludes: ‘I didn’t have the most successful game, but I wouldn’t swap a Test debut at Lord’s for anything. It’s amazing.’
