James Rew: 'I like to make it really hard for the opposition to get me out'

It is an inescapable fact that England defeats in Australia tend to prompt significant turnover. Just ask Rory Burns, Haseeb Hameed and Dawid Malan: having started the 2021-22 series as England's top three in Brisbane, all three players were dropped for the subsequent tour to West Indies, and none of them has played another Test match since.

It is too soon to say for sure if the 2025-26 series will go the same way but at 2-0 down after six days' cricket, the early signs are not promising. A fourth successive heavy defeat in Australia would doubtless prompt change and, in Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope, England are carrying two top-order batters who would be unlikely to survive an overhaul. Jacob Bethell is the next man in line, but close behind him is a player with a far more substantial body of work.

At 21, James Rew has already scored 11 first-class hundreds - 11 more than Bethell, his former England Under-19 team-mate - and has long been seen as a future international player. He also holds the unique distinction of scoring the winning run for an English team against an Australian one on this Ashes tour, making 92 not out against the Prime Minister's XI in Canberra last week.

Rew was dismissed cheaply in both innings of England Lions' heavy defeat against Australia A at the weekend but has already come close to playing Test cricket. He was called up to England's squad to face Zimbabwe in May, and ran the drinks as 12th man on the second day of the first Test in Perth last month.

"It does feel good to be around that group," Rew tells ESPNcricinfo. "It's obviously an incredible group, a really nice bunch of lads, and they're all very welcoming… If there is ever an opportunity, I'd love to be able to play Test cricket for England.

"To be honest, I don't see that happening anytime soon, so I'm just trying to go about my own game as well as I can, and just keep trying to get better day to day. If anything ever does come about in the future, I'll try to take the opportunity."

By his own admission, Rew is something of a throwback: alongside citing fellow King's College Taunton alumnus and Somerset academy graduate Jos Buttler as one of his idols, he mentions the name of Alastair Cook. He travels to Dubai this week to play for Sharjah Warriorz in the ILT20 after England opted against keeping him on as Ashes cover but, unusually for a young English batter, has only played seven T20s.

"I'd say I build an innings pretty well," Rew says. "That's probably the thing that I think is my strength: once I get in, trying to make it really hard for them to get me out. I'm not necessarily as destructive as a lot of modern-day players, but I like to try to keep the scoreboard moving along and just make it really hard for the opposition to get me out once I'm in."

His strike rate has gradually increased in first-class cricket since his breakthrough season in 2023, though without him making a conscious change. "Some of that might be just me getting slightly better as a player, being able to score off more balls," Rew suggests. "I feel like I can up the tempo if I need to, and it helps when Somerset are in good positions in games."

Rew was promoted from No. 6 to No. 4 this season and was Somerset's leading run-scorer, all while keeping wicket. "I enjoyed it a lot," he says. "I feel like at No. 4, you can get in earlier in the game, so you can have more impact as to where the game goes."

He believes that he could yet move further up the order, though likely as a specialist batter. "While keeping, No. 4 is a pretty good spot; higher than that with the gloves could be quite challenging. But if I don't keep, I would happily move up if it fits with the Somerset line-up… If I do end up having to open the batting at some point, I'd try to do as best I can."

It is a move that could be prompted by the emergence of his younger brother, Thomas, who has kept wicket for the Lions throughout their Australia tour and turned 18 during the PM's XI fixture. "We had a couple of beers after the game," James says. "It was nice to be with him for his 18th and be able to celebrate a little bit… We're obviously here together and it's really, really surreal."

Thomas was picked ahead of James - who is in his third consecutive winter with the Lions - at the start of the Australia tour, prompting reports that he had been told to work on his fitness. "I saw that, and that's the first I'd ever heard of it," he insists. "That's not the reason Fred [Lions coach Andrew Flintoff] gave me, so I have no idea where that came from.

"We've worked hard as a group on gym and running and just trying to all be prepared for Test cricket, if it does happen to any of us. That's Fred's goal for us: to be fit as a unit for international cricket, and obviously playing in Australia with the heat. We've all worked hard on our physical abilities… I was just preparing in the nets, and managed to get a couple of runs in Canberra."

Rew worked closely with the former South Africa batter Neil McKenzie throughout the tour, with a focus on countering extra bounce: "I've worked on a couple of things with my set-up position, trying to be more on top of the ball when it's bouncing more - setting up for a back-of-a-length ball, rather than in England where you have to watch your front shin every ball."

It is a change that should serve Rew well for the demands of Test cricket as and when his opportunity arises - and with the way that England's tour appears to be heading, that may be sooner rather than later.