Somerset<\/a> sunshine that Friday and the generous applause of a Taunton crowd treated to their first proper glimpse of a precocious talent. They had heard the whispers since his early teens: Rew was a first XI, if not international, banker and the 17-year-old\u2019s unbeaten 84 from 81 balls had just steered his side to a white-ball victory against Durham. \u201cIt was a special feeling to walk off that pitch with the whole County Ground behind us,\u201d Rew says.<\/p>\nRew\u2019s runs that day were impressive, but more eye-catching was his handling of a potentially tricky chase. He manipulated both field and ball, looking every inch a batter who had been there a thousand times before and barely failed. The latest of cuts fizzed past point, while checked drives looked effortless. If a gap was plugged, Rew unearthed another. A former England international among the opposition said afterwards that Rew was the best junior he had laid eyes on.<\/p>\n
For Rew\u2019s parents it was a day that was both proud and practical. Mum, Debbie, and Dad, Chris, have barely missed a run of either brother\u2019s careers. While previously that has largely involved split travel, now that both are Somerset first\u2011team cricketers that has changed.<\/p>\n
The younger Rew\u2019s maiden first\u2011team involvement came in May, just after he had signed a short-term Somerset contract. James was in the England men\u2019s Test squad, and Thomas provided wicketkeeping cover. Ultimately, James missed out on Ben Stokes\u2019s XI so took his Somerset spot at Chester-le-Street. But after he was rapped on the finger batting, Thomas grabbed the gloves for Durham\u2019s second innings. He wore James\u2019s baggy white shirt.<\/p>\n
Thomas Rew on his way to a match-winning 84 not out against Durham. Photograph: Harry Trump\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cI was pretty nervous walking out there with the boys,\u201d Rew says a touch shyly. His words are doubtless true but, given his on-field composure, they are difficult to believe. \u201cAfter I\u2019d taken a couple of catches those nerves eased a little. Being sat there in the changing room in whites after a win and singing Blackbird was special.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt took me a few days to learn the words,\u201d he says through laughter when asked about the Wurzels classic that Somerset have adopted as a victory chant. \u201cBut I\u2019ve sung it enough now \u2013 I\u2019m pretty used to it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rew is referencing the seven renditions needed as Somerset reached the One-Day Cup semi-final against Worcestershire on Sunday. Alas, there was no No 8.<\/p>\n
Under James\u2019s captaincy, Thomas was ever present, making 308 runs at 44, and the tournament provided a rare extended spell of the pair sharing a field. A four\u2011year age gap meant they played just a few times together at King\u2019s College, while both being available for club cricket is as common as a dry English April. Their Taunton St Andrews clubmates know them as the Goat and Baby Goat respectively.<\/p>\n
Thomas does, though, have happy memories of following James as a child. \u201cWe\u2019d travel around watching him for Somerset under-10s and under\u201111s,\u201d he says. \u201cI loved going to those games and Dad would throw some balls at me in the nets.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas Rew and his brother James (right) embrace. Photograph: Harry Trump\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Who was he in his mind\u2019s eye? \u201cI always enjoyed watching AB de Villiers. The way he bats is astonishing. I tried to copy him, and Dad would try and get me to sweep like he used to. Jos Buttler is a huge one too as he came through Somerset\u2019s academy and went to King\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rew will return to school to sit A-levels in geography, economics and maths. \u201cIt is tough at times,\u201d he says. \u201cEspecially when people around you are going off to play golf and padel! But it\u2019s just one more year of hard work and then I can focus on cricket.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last winter he missed a chunk of schooling to tour South Africa with England Under-19s and will do likewise early next year at a World Cup tournament in Zimbabwe and Namibia, where he will probably be captain. \u201cI\u2019ll keep in contact with the teachers,\u201d he says. At a World Cup? Of course you will. Rew chuckles.<\/p>\n
Having captained the squad against India this summer (in the ODI series only Vaibhav Suryavanshi, the 14-year-old with an IPL century, outscored him), he will probably lead his country at that tournament. \u201cI\u2019ve enjoyed every single minute of it,\u201d he says of captaincy. \u201cIt\u2019s tough at times when keeping and having to run back and forth to the bowler. But there are enough people on the pitch to help you out if you\u2019re ever struggling.\u201d<\/p>\n
A query as to how he found surrendering both the gloves and leadership to James at Somerset earns another grin. \u201cIt\u2019s felt weird being down at third and taking a back seat. But I\u2019m always still thinking about how to impact the game.\u201d Thomas admits he offered James the odd post-match pointer, \u201cbut we try and leave the cricket chat to the pitch and just talk about other sports at home \u2013 we\u2019re still massively competitive in everything we do\u201d.<\/p>\n
Thomas Rew celebrates a century for England Under-19s. Photograph: Andy Kearns\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
The pair play each other at padel, squash and golf. \u201cThere\u2019s been a few strops on the golf course,\u201d Rew says. \u201cGood matches, but I\u2019m definitely more liable [to throw a tantrum] \u2026 it\u2019s happened on a few different courts. I think that\u2019s just my competitive nature. I want to beat him at everything, which sometimes isn\u2019t the case.\u201d<\/p>\n
This summer Rew has hit centuries for a counties select XI and for England Under-19s, made his debut in both domestic white\u2011ball competitions, and signed a Somerset contract that runs until 2027. A County Championship bow this month feels plausible and then, who knows?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As Thomas Rew reached the edge of the field he was greeted by his elder brother James and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":112965,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[1721,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-112964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cricket","tag-cricket","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112964","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112964"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112964\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/112965"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}