Interview: Thomas Rew leads England before A-level exams

Life has been pretty full-on for 18-year-old Thomas, who last summer made both his T20 and List A debuts for Somerset, as well as signing a rookie contract for the county where he has played his cricket right through the age groups.

Back at a wet and cold Cooper Associates County Ground, Thomas said: “It’s been an incredible year for me and some of the opportunities I have been given – to go out to Australia with the Lions and then to have time in South Africa was incredible.

"Then I played in the Under 19 World Cup, and although it didn’t quite go as we’d liked in the final, it was a great experience overall.

"Silver wasn’t what we were after, but we’d have taken that at the start.

"Being part of the World Cup was a great opportunity for all of us, we played a lot of 50-over cricket back in the summer and we were feeling really confident going into the tournament.

"We had a good series against India in last year summer and then it worked out that we came up against them again in the final. We prepared well, delivered our skills but then it was just unfortunate about the final – but it happens.”

In the semi-final, Thomas scored a century against Australia – how did that feel?

“It’s always nice to get a few against Australia, and to get a hundred at the World Cup was a special feeling, so I’m pretty happy with the way we did overall.

"There were some great contributions from everyone in the squad, which is always nice.”

Looking towards 2026, Thomas said: “The new season is getting closer and once my exams are done I will be able to focus 100 per cent on my cricket.

"My aim is to play in the first team in all formats and if I do get that opportunity I’d like to contribute to get a few wins for the team as well.”