James Rew is currently the most prized County Championship wicket in the country, but his hopes of an England call-up at the start of the international summer could potentially be scuppered by his younger brother’s exam schedule.
On the penultimate day of Somerset’s third round match in Southampton, they were set 287 to win against a packed bowling attack containing an experienced overseas in Kyle Abbott, and explosive pace in rising England star Sonny Baker. They were quickly 52-3, Baker having ripped through the top order. The game rested on Rew, as it had done well before wickets had started to tumble. By the end of the day, he was 58* and Somerset were in prime position, although it would be Tom Abell who eventually got them over the line.
Rew’s scores in the Championship this season read: 64, 122, 48, 86 and 59. He sits behind only Jamie Smith in the run-scoring charts, who cashed in on a flat pitch at The Oval in last week’s round of matches.
The consistency with which Rew has churned out runs, right from his first forays as a teenage prodigy, has made his case for England Test honours compelling. Rew is no longer a teenager with a bright future ahead of him, but the most prolific run-scorer in the country. If England are looking to fix their relationship with the first-class counties, not picking the Championship’s top performer would be a tricky start.
The issue England have now is that there isn’t an obvious place for him. Their Test middle-order is locked out from No.3 to No.6, and Smith’s early season runs have likely done enough to firm up his place as wicketkeeper at No.7, which was teetering after the Ashes. The only wiggle room to play with is among the openers. Zak Crawley’s four failures from four innings at the start of the season have put a couple of nails, if not necessarily the final one, in the coffin for his place. And Ben Duckett hasn’t yet justified his decision to forgo a lucrative IPL contract with Championship runs.
England have famously subbed in non-specialist openers before under the McCullum-Stokes selection partnership. Dan Lawrence filled in for Crawley against Sri Lanka, in a disastrous move for Lawrence’s standing as England’s next cab. He hasn’t been selected in a Test squad since. Duckett himself was batting at No.3 for Notts when he was made Crawley’s partner. However, the continuation of their previous controversial selection policies, which saw players often picked out of position, would signal a lack of intent to make meaningful change after the Ashes.
Perhaps there could be a more dramatic shuffling of the pack, given that no opener in Division One who hasn’t already been tried and discarded by England has banged the door down at the start of the season. Smith has batted at No.3 for Surrey this season, and England opened with him in 50-over cricket last year. His keeping came under scrutiny in Australia, so putting him up as a prospective opener would leave Rew free to take the gloves. Jacob Bethell has also been suggested as a potential option to open, which would free up the No.3 spot.
However, the cleanest way for Rew to get into the England Test side would be to open the batting for Somerset and continue to score a shedload of runs. For that, he’s dependent on his younger brother, Thomas.
If you’ve asked anyone down at Taunton about James Rew over the last few years, the conversation quickly turns to, ‘yeah, but have you seen his younger brother?’ Thomas Rew showed exactly why those whispers surround him last summer for England U19s, when he scored a blistering century against India, before hitting another hundred in the semi-final of the U19 World Cup over the winter. He also earned a position in the England Lions squad which toured Australia, notably selected as keeper over his brother during the Ashes warm-up match.
The Rew brothers make up two thirds of the keeper set at Somerset, with Tom Banton the third. While Banton was part of Somerset’s Championship side last year, he was signed by Gujarat Titans in the IPL, before being ruled out with a finger injury. James Rew opening for Somerset would mean that his younger brother would need to keep wicket, but Thomas will be out of action to take his school exams for the first part of the season.
It will only be once Thomas is available that the issue will come to a head. By then, it may well be too late for that first Test of the summer, meaning a call will have to be made over whether England continue with their previous selection policies, or whether Rew has to bide his time for another place to open up.
Speaking at the end of play on the second day in Southampton, Somerset head coach, Jason Kerr, said: "[Rew opening for Somerset] is in my head, but we have to do what is right for the team. What I don't want to do is compromise his opportunity of playing for England.
“He's got to score a volume of runs, and that is what he is doing. The thing to recognise is the way he is doing it. Could he do that at the top of the order for England? Absolutely.”
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