While Thomas Rew’s class-mates at King’s College Taunton will all be cramming for their mock A-levels, the 17-year-old will be in Australia, facing some of the best bowlers in the world.
The hard-hitting teenage batsman is studying maths, economics and geography but his most pressing assignment is with the England Lions. He was in a lesson when Andrew Flintoff, the head coach, called him to tell him he had been selected.
“I was at school when I found out,” Rew recalls. “He rang while I was in a lesson, so it was actually break time when I got the message.
“It is difficult [to balance cricket and academics] but school and the ECB are being so helpful. School have given me all the work and then it’s just up to me really to stay in contact with my teachers, trying to keep up to date as much as possible. Maths is particularly tricky, especially when I am not at school the whole time, it’s quite tough to catch up on but I am enjoying the challenge.”
Thomas Rew has already played four red-ball matches and 15 ODIs for England Under-19s
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This tour, with the Lions training alongside England’s Ashes squad down under, will be hugely important for Rew’s development. It is the first time he has been to Australia and presents not only the opportunity to test himself on Australian pitches, but also to learn from being around Brendon McCullum, Ben Stokes and the rest of the Ashes squad in Perth before the first Test.
Rew is the youngest member of the Lions squad but he can count on the support and guidance of his 21-year-old brother, James, on the trip. Both are wicketkeeper-batsmen and played together in the Somerset first team for the first time this summer.
“It’s a nice feeling that we are both going to be out there together,” Rew said. “I have always looked up to him. He’s started his career unbelievably. I want to play more with him at Somerset and one day together in an England shirt.
“We’re very competitive at home in every sport we play. I think I hit the [cricket] ball further but we’re always looking to get more runs than each other. That just spurs us on and helps get the best out of both of us. I think I’m slightly more aggressive in the way I go about it. He’s slightly more suited to the longer format. Neither of us want to nail ourselves on as just a white-ball or a red-ball player.
“He’s a bit better than me at golf at the minute. He plays off plus-one so he’s a pretty handy golfer. Squash is probably the closest in terms of ability. But tennis and padel, we always have a good match. No matter what we play, we’re always pretty competitive.”
James Rew earned his first Test squad call-up in the summer and benefited from time with wicketkeeping coach Sarah Taylor
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James is firmly on England’s radar, having been called up to the senior squad for the one-off Test against Zimbabwe at the start of the summer. He has already scored 14 professional hundreds. Thomas has shown off his skilful strokeplay at international level, making the fastest century by an England Under-19 player in their series against India, a sublime 131 from 89 balls to lead the team he was captaining to a one-wicket victory. After his tour of Australia with the Lions, will come home for a brief stint at Christmas before going to Zimbabwe for the Under-19 World Cup in the new year, where he will probably be captain again.
Thomas is yet to make his first-class debut but was a regular part of Somerset’s One Day Cup side this summer under the leadership of his brother. A quickfire half-century on debut against Middlesex showed he was not fazed by first-team cricket and his unbeaten 40 in partnership with his brother led Somerset to victory over local rivals Gloucestershire in the quarter-finals. Earlier in the tournament he hit 84 not out off 81 balls against Durham. At Taunton St Andrews — their recreational club — the Rew brothers are known by team-mates as Goat (Greatest Of All Time) and Baby Goat.
Goat and Baby Goat play their county and recreational cricket together and will both be in Australia for the winter
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There is more than a hint of Harry Brook, England’s white-ball captain, in the way Thomas bats, hitting 360 degrees with a high head in his stance, high hands generating a lot of power from a relatively short backlift.
“I’ve always loved watching Harry Brook bat. I like his hands,” he says. “I’ve spoken to a few people about how he holds the bat and his technique. I think that might have crept into my game subconsciously. I don’t try to copy him; I just love watching him and I think he’s an unbelievable player. If there’s anyone to copy, it’s probably Harry Brook.”
The younger Rew — who says he probably hits the ball further than his brother, James — is a fan of white-ball captain Brook’s batting
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The most recent brothers to play Test cricket for England were Sam and Tom Curran, although they never played in the same match. The most recent pair to feature in the same Test were the Hollioakes, Ben and Adam, in 1997. Given the trajectory of their careers and how highly they are rated by the England management, the Rew brothers could be next.