England U19 and Lions prodigy Thomas Rew will join Paarl Royals for a short stint in the upcoming season of the SA20, despite being yet to make his first-class debut.
The franchise announced that Rew would join their squad as a short-term fill-in at the start of their campaign, ahead of the U19 World Cup. Rew is likely to captain England U19s in the competition, having led the side over the summer. The SA20 season is set to begin on December 26 and run until January 25, while the U19 World Cup will begin in Zimbabwe on January 15.
Somerset keeper-bat Thomas Rew will join the Royals as a short-term fill-in for the start of our SA20 campaign, before heading off for his Under-19 World Cup duties. 💪💗 pic.twitter.com/INJa1iFb01
— Paarl Royals (@paarlroyals) November 26, 2025
Who is Thomas Rew, England's newest batting prospect
Rew has long been touted on the English domestic circuit as one of the most promising young batters in the country. He will celebrate his 18th birthday next week, but has already played significant roles for both England U19s and the Lions side currently touring Australia. This year has seen Rew's career trajectory accelerate, and he signed his first professional county contract with Somerset – the county his brother and England fringe wicketkeeper James also represents – last May.
After making his debut for England U19s as a 16-year-old last year, Rew starred in the youth ODI series played against India in June. He hit the fastest one-day century ever for England U19s, reaching his hundred off 73 balls, and scored 131 in their total of 291. He went on to hit 76* off 44 in the following match, and finished the series with 280 runs from five innings and an average of 93.33.
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Earlier in the summer, he was part of a County Select XI that played Zimbabwe ahead of their Test match against England, and scored 103 from 107 balls in the second innings. He went on to make his first team debut for Somerset in the T20 Blast, before combining with his brother James in a 107-run partnership in a One Day Cup match against Middlesex. The younger Rew finished the One Day Cup with an average of 44.00 from nine innings, and a strike rate of 96.25. However, he has yet to make his first-class debut for Somerset.
Following his successful summer, Rew was called up to the England Lions squad to tour Australia alongside their main Ashes squad. He was one of eight players from the Lions squad to combine with the seniors in their only warm-up fixture ahead of the Perth Test. He was selected to keep wicket for the Lions side over his older brother and fellow keeper James, who is also in the Lions squad and was called up as batting cover for England ahead of their Test match against Zimbabwe in May. Rew scored a half-century in the intra-squad match at Lilac Hill, and scored 13 and 36 in the Lions' loss against a Cricket Australia XI last week.
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