Rew Brothers Share Ambition to Play Together

James Rew, a wicketkeeper-batter for Somerset, stated that it would be a “dream” to one day play alongside his younger brother Thomas, who is also part of the club’s academy. James, 20, and Thomas, 17, are both in South Africa this winter, participating in training camps with England Lions and England Under-19s, respectively. Thomas, a teenager, joined Somerset’s academy in 2023, a year after his brother made his first-class debut. “It would be nice to play for Somerset alongside him one day, but that probably won’t be for a couple of years,” James told BBC Points West. He added, “I want to play with him for Somerset and maybe England one day, but that’s a long way off. To see him doing so well at the moment is really good.” Thomas is currently following a path similar to his older brother, who was a regular for England’s U19s during their run to the World Cup final in 2022. James made his England Lions debut the following year, in what proved to be a breakthrough season for Somerset that also saw him named the Professional Cricket Association’s men’s young player of the year. James became the club’s youngest first-class double centurion in July last summer and concluded the 2023 campaign as one of Division One’s highest run scorers. However, he believes Thomas is “further ahead” than where he was at the same age four years ago. “There’s definitely things that he can do now that I definitely couldn’t so he probably doesn’t need much of my advice,” James said. Thomas added: “I definitely look up to him as someone I want to be in the future.” He continued, “I’m definitely trying to take it in small steps at the minute, not worry about stuff too far away, four years is quite a long time so just look in the short future and see what can go from there.” Both James Rew and his younger brother Thomas play as wicketkeeper-batters. While both brothers play as wicketkeeper, James is left-handed while Thomas is right-handed. “I’m definitely more of a red-ball player and you’ve got more of an all-round game,” James said. Thomas added: “I’ve learned a lot from watching you grow up so I think that has sort of crept into my game without really knowing it.” Their upbringing, which involved playing almost every sport against each other, has unsurprisingly instilled a competitive edge in them both and pushed them to improve. “Dad got us into pretty much every sport at a young age,” James said. “We definitely were [competitive] and still are. There’s been some major tantrums on some sporting pitches and courts. Probably squash is where we get most competitive.” Thomas said: “He’s [James] been a huge influence, playing lots of sports together. “Whether that’s squash or challenging each other on the golf course or backyard cricket. It’s been great to compete against each other, I think that’s really helped both of us kick on, especially in cricket.”