What to do about Rew? England's dilemma

Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, James Rew averages almost 44 from his 60 first-class matches

Cricket CorrespondentPublished7 hours ago471 CommentsThree weeks into the county season and Somerset's James Rew is making a strong case to be part of England's post-Ashes rebuild.

The left-hander's 379 runs is bettered only by Jamie Smith, albeit that Rew has played a game more than most.

In his five innings, Rew has passed 50 four times. A century in the opening match of the season against Nottinghamshire took him to 12 first-class hundreds at the age of 22. That is as many as England's Zak Crawley has in his entire career.

The Crawley comparison is apt, because it is the opener's place in the England batting line-up that appears to be most vulnerable.

But Rew is not an opener, leaving England with a dilemma on how to fit him in for the first Test against New Zealand at Lord's on 4 June, if they choose to at all.

This would be the most straightforward approach. The vacancy is likely to be at the top of the order, so the replacement goes in as the no-frills option.

Here's the snag. In his 60 first-class matches, Rew is yet to open the batting. The highest he has batted is number three - the century against Notts two weeks ago came at first drop. He has had four goes at opening the batting in List A cricket, returning a century and another score of 96.

The Australians often talk about picking the best players first, then worrying about the order later. England could copy that approach and have thought about Rew as an option to open by asking Somerset for him to do the job in the Championship.

Despite the Cidermen struggling to find a settled opening pair, Rew has not been tried, partly because of his workload as a wicketkeeper.

Nevertheless, Somerset coach Jason Kerr has said Rew "absolutely" could open for England and those close to Rew speak of a player with the qualities to thrive at the top of the order in international cricket.

Rew is said to be a tough character, with an old-fashioned approach to batting - happy to occupy the crease if the situation demands. A hint of modern flair comes through his happiness to play the reverse sweep.

England had their fingers burned trying a non-specialist opener when the Dan Lawrence experiment failed 18 months ago, and asking Rew to make his Test debut at the top of the order against New Zealand's Matt Henry and co is a big ask.

He could get a dress rehearsal opening the batting for England Lions in two fixtures against South Africa A in May.

Further down the line, Rew may move up the order for Somerset if little brother Thomas takes the gloves after finishing his A-levels this summer. By that time, James could already be an England player.

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If Rew were to come in and Smith remains at number seven, it raises the prospect of a county wicketkeeper in Rew not keeping for England while Smith, who does not keep for Surrey, takes the gloves in Test cricket.

A solution to this would be for Smith to do the job he currently does at The Oval - bat at three and not keep. He has benefitted from the switch at Surrey, where he is thought to have rediscovered a natural tempo to his batting.

Smith has often been tipped to push up the England order and play as a specialist batter. Such a move would open a space for Rew to keep and bat at seven for England.

The engine room is where Rew has most often found himself for Somerset - 10 of his 12 first-class hundreds have come at number six.

Close observers say Rew's keeping is competent, rather than spectacular, possibly hampered by some heavy footwork. England also like their number seven to be a dynamic batter, capable of counter-attacking alongside the tail. Rew has gears to his batting, just not as many as Smith.

The other part of this plan would involve moving Jacob Bethell to open the batting.

Bethell certainly has the talent, attributes and temperament to open, yet has only just found a home at number three with his stellar maiden century in the final Ashes Test in Sydney.

On the flip side, Bethell plays so little first-class cricket aside from for England - one match for Warwickshire since August 2024 - it can be argued there is the opportunity to mould the left-hander into whatever is required.

Ultimately, it could be decided that moving Bethell and Smith to accommodate Rew is too much shuffling.

A decision on Rew and the rest of the England squad will be influenced by the new selector, a role for which applications closed on Friday.

There is also still plenty of time for others to stake their claim - most counties have four more matches before the first Test, along with those two Lions games.

Crawley could find the form that keeps his place. If England decide to omit the Kent man and want a specialist opener as his replacement, then Durham pair Ben McKinney and Emilio Gay have started the season well. Asa Tribe is also opening for Glamorgan.

There could be two batting spots available in the Test squad, simply because England often pick a reserve to cover for the top seven. Elsewhere, there are questions over the spin and pace-bowling slots.

Shoaib Bashir had an awful winter, and is trying to move on with a new home and plenty of overs at Derbyshire. If England picked Bashir when he was not playing county cricket, would they then leave him out when he is?

If not Bashir, would England go back to Jack Leach, Liam Dawson, or even leg-spinner Mason Crane, whose only Test cap came more than eight years ago? Will Jacks is the incumbent, and other all-round options include Rehan Ahmed and James Coles.

England's fast-bowling department is experiencing its most uncertain period for more than two decades, with James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes and -most likely - Mark Wood out of the picture.

Brydon Carse has a broken wrist and Jofra Archer is at the Indian Premier League. Gus Atkinson has not played so far this season following the hamstring injury he suffered at the Ashes, but should be able to join Josh Tongue in the squad to take on New Zealand.

There could be two or three vacancies at the beginning of the series. Sonny Baker has a central contract and has made a superb start to the season, after a struggle when he made his England white-ball debuts last year.

England are keen to find a new-ball bowler to replace the retired Woakes. Matthew Fisher was called into the Ashes squad and Tom Lawes is highly rated, though both are in a Surrey team that has struggled to take wickets in the first two rounds of the Championship. Sam Cook played one Test last year, too small a sample size to make a judgement on the prolific Essex seamer.

And is it finally time for England to bury the hatchet with Ollie Robinson? Still only 32, he has 76 wickets at an average below 23. He has not played for England in more than a year.

Now Sussex captain, leading his team to two wins from two, many rate Robinson as the best new-ball bowler in the country. Can England afford to ignore him?

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