Thomas Rew, brother of England Test prospect James Rew, smashed a blistering century to guide England Under-19 to a thrilling chase in the second Youth ODI against India Under-19 at Northampton.
England entered the match trailing 0-1 after losing by six wickets in the series opener last week. On Monday, they roared back into the series with a nail-biting chase of 291, spearheaded by their captain, Thomas Rew, who smashed a blistering 131 off 89 balls.
Chasing the target, England faced early trouble, losing opener BJ Dawkins for just seven runs. A promising third-wicket partnership was building when RS Ambrish dismissed Ben Mayers for 27, a knock that included five fours. Isaac Mohammed, Moeen Ali’s nephew, had shown glimpses of his talent with some impressive sixes in the series opener, but this time he fell cheaply, trapped by Ambrish in the next over for 11 off 30 balls, leaving England struggling at 47-3.
Rew then came to England’s rescue with a rapid hundred off just 73 balls, breaking the record for the fastest century by an England Under-19 batter. The previous record was held by Ben Foakes, who scored a 79-ball hundred against New Zealand in 2012. Rew went on to make 131 off 89 deliveries, smashing 16 fours and six sixes. By the time he was dismissed, England needed 61 more runs from 10.2 overs to win.
Rew stitched together a crucial 123-run partnership with Rocky Flintoff (39) in 21 overs, but a flurry of late wickets turned the match into a nail-biter, leaving England nine down and needing seven runs off the final over. Sebastian Morgan, coming in at No. 9, played a vital cameo - sealing England’s victory by smashing the third ball for four. He finished unbeaten on 20 off just 12 deliveries.
2nd Youth ODI, England Under-19 vs India Under-19
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Earlier in the day, India captain Ayush Mharte was bowled for a golden duck in a 12-ball first over. No Indian batter scored a half-century, but contributions from Vaibhav Suryavanshi (45), Vihaan Malhotra (49), Rahul Kumar (47), and Kanishk Chouhan (45) guided India to a respectable 290 before they were bowled out in the 49th over. Among England's bowlers, Alex French starred with four wickets, while Jack Home and Alex Green chipped in with three wickets each.
The remaining three Youth ODIs will be played on July 2, 5 and 7.
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