County Championship: Emilio Gay scores career-best 145 for Northants

Emilio Gay went past his previous first-class best of 112

Emilio Gay scored a fine century, his first at Wantage Road, as Northamptonshire dominated County Championship title-chasing Surrey on day one.

Opening batter Gay was fantastic in his 145, his third first-class century and second of the season, as he helped his side seamlessly score 249-4 having been stuck into bat.

He was joined in a 77-run first-wicket partnership by Will Young and a 155-run fourth-wicket stand by Rob Keogh, with a Kemar Roach and Dan Worrall-induced wobble in between.

Keogh ended the day on an effortless 75 not out but was outshone by Gay's personal best.

The death of Queen Elizabeth II was marked with a minute's silence and the national anthem before play, while there was a period of applause during a rain break in remembrance of Northamptonshire coach Luke Swann, who died aged 39 last week.

Gay played a pair of glorious cover drives off Roach, but it was his play square of the wicket that dominated his innings; most aesthetically pleasing were his wristy flicks off his legs.

The elegant left-hander passed 50 for the sixth time this season in 69 balls, and he answered criticisms of his conversion rate - only one century this year - in emphatic style.

The 22-year-old stayed in one easy-going gear the whole way through the day and reached three figures - his first outside of Canterbury - in 118 balls, before passing his previous best red-ball score of 112.

His standing ovation, having fallen into a short-ball trap to hook to deep square leg in drizzle, was well deserved for his high-quality innings, although it turned to frustration as his wicket saw the end of the day's play.

Rory Burns had stuck Northamptonshire in but did not get the immediate movement and accuracy he would have craved, with his side losing top spot in Division One to Hampshire on their week off.

Tom Curran made his first Championship appearance since April 2019 with unspectacular figures of 11 wicketless overs for 39. The England international has returned from a stress fracture in his back this year, having been sidelined by a side strain for much of 2019.

After the rain delay, which knocked 10 overs off the day's scheduled allotment, Surrey returned to find swing on the agenda and made the more favourable conditions work with three wickets in 31 balls.

Young had been the antidote to Gay's flair - scoring 20 of the 77 runs - before a back-foot drive off Roach found his outside edge and flew to second slip, before the West Indian had Luke Procter fending to gully.

Worrell dragged Josh Cobb wide to drive an away swinger behind to put Northamptonshire in danger of replicating their woes at Hampshire last week. In each innings, Gay and Young had successfully dealt with the new ball, with stands of 68 and 98 before the team were bowled out for 175 and 221.

This time Keogh entered to steady things, with Gay continuing his business. Keogh embodied class and experience for his 91-ball 50 and contributed an equal 75 to the 155 with Gay. The heavy majority of his runs came behind the wicket, usually when opening the face of the bat on a good-paced pitch.

Report supplied by the ECB Reporters' Network.