Geelong recruit Emilio Gay backflipped on joining Adelaide side to stay in Victoria

Geelong star recruit Emilio Gay has revealed he was “never supposed” to play for the Cats in Premier Cricket after a blistering 52 in his debut for the club.

Premier Cricket Geelong v St Kilda at Geelong Cricket Ground. Geelong Batsman Emilio Gay made 50 Picture: Mark Wilson

GEELONG star recruit Emilio Gay has revealed he was “never supposed” to play for the Cats in Premier Cricket after a blistering 52 in his debut for the club.

Gay was an integral part of an important victory over St Kilda at home, with the win keeping the club within reaching distance of the finals.

The import said his stint for Geelong would be short, with commitments back at his county club Northamptonshire.

“I’m due to head back at the end of February, we have a pre-season tour to Cape Town, so I’ve got to head back for the start of March,” he said.

“It makes my time here slightly shorter than Geelong would probably like, but obviously my county commitments come first.

“I would’ve liked to have played some cricket before Christmas, but my journey hadn’t been so smooth and I hadn’t really committed to Geelong at that stage.

“I was due to go to Adelaide and play some grade cricket there, but it fell through late and things naturally took its course and changed and that’s why I ended up staying over here.”

Gay was set to travel to South Australia after Christmas, with an agreement at Port Adelaide Cricket Club in the South Australia Cricket Association’s premier grade in place.

Premier Cricket Geelong v St Kilda at Geelong Cricket Ground.Geelong Batsman Emilio Gay made 50Picture: Mark Wilson

But the opening batter decided to stay in Geelong after visiting former Bell Post Hill teammates and friends for Christmas.

“The connections here and the people here I know from my time at Bell Post Hill in 2019-20, so I just preferred to stay and play cricket here in the end,” he said.

“Now I’ve got a full two months of commitment to make runs for the team and help them win games and hopefully make finals.

“I had a couple of training sessions with the Geelong players before I was meant to travel to Adelaide, and I think I naturally started to get a feel for the squad.

“It got to the stage where they were talking about the game on the Saturday and I wanted to be a part of it.

“There’s also a couple of Northamptonshire boys in Melbourne and Geelong, so having those connections around certainly makes it easier to settle in.

“I have never been to Adelaide before and I don’t know anyone there, so staying in Geelong was more convenient for me because it’s almost like a second home away from England.”

Originally published as Geelong recruit Emilio Gay backflipped on joining Adelaide side to stay in Victoria